Amethyst Lightning
by JumpingTheMoon
Summary: Book Five in my Novelization Rewrite of SOAL. Wherein the crew seeks the Yellow and Purple Crystals, and Valuan machinations are set in motion. Rated T for violence, language, sexual themes. May become M later. This is the current book.
1. Ice

**Skies Of Arcadia Legends**

**Book Five- Amethyst Lightning**

_By Jonathan Pelikan_

* * *

Chapter One- Ice

She was truly content. She didn't even mind that the ship's heaters occasionally failed to compensate for the cold, rendering a chill through the metal craft, for her best friends would gladly warm her again. Their quest was well underway and they had already achieved things no human being was thought able to do. She didn't know what still waited ahead, but was sure they could overcome just about anything.

Fina wasn't born on Arcadia. As a descendant of the Silver Civilization, a Silvite, she was raised high above the atmosphere of the planet, and had journeyed down many months ago for the first time. Her mission was to secure the six Moon Crystals that had the power to control ancient superweapons known as the Gigas. Along the way, she had learned a great deal about the island-dwelling people of the world, and enlisted the help of many friends.

Often called beautiful, she was pale and delicate. Her blonde hair flowed down her head, hanging thick bangs around a gentle face. Crystalline earrings hung placidly from both ears, and a translucent veil hung covered the back of her head over her hair. She had solidly and physically matured, as her long, thin Silvite dress showed. It was white, flecked with many golden Silvite symbols and markings. A small artificial shape-shifter called Cupil accompanied her at all times, usually formed into a bracelet over her wrist.

The floating ice was still a new wonder to her. She stood on the bridge of her crew's pride, the _Delphinus_, looking out the large viewing screens. The icebergs slipped to either side, and more appeared on the horizon. Crystalized water sparked as the sun's weak rays bounced off them. It was so cold outside that the light rains covering the ship's hull from Mid Ocean were frozen onto patches of armor.

"Pretty, ain't it? Back in Esperanza we never got so much ice, or much ice at all." It was a quiet morning, and the only other person in the room was one of their pilots, Don. The mustached semi-drunk took a sip from his bottle and breathed in deeply. His eyes were slightly glazed over, but still somehow retained an intelligence as they carefully looked over the flight controls. His jacket was that of a Valuan Armada high pilot that had fallen into a state of disrepair, even as it was his most treasured possession. His other gloved hand tightly gripped the wooden steering wheel of the airship, maneuvering it artfully through the ice.

"Yes," She acknowledged, nodding slowly. "In my home, everything was artificial, and the only ice we had were small cubes used to cool drinks."

They said nothing for a period of time, until the hatch behind them clicked open. A man in a flowing red cloak and jacket stepped through, his shaggy brown hair obscuring the top of his tanned face. He raised his hand in greeting and said, "Morning, you two." A glance out the window assured him they were nearing the Lands of Ice. "How long have we been going through this stuff?"

"Good morning." Fina turned towards him and bowed lowly. Cupil, from its bracelet-form, chirped a greeting.

"Hey, David. I'd say about an hour or so, still no landmasses though." The pilot briefly nodded to him before taking another swig. The_Delphinus_' Vice Captain, David LeCroix, walked forward, his boots clapping idly against the imprinted metal deck. The rush of the winds in the faint background combined with the thundering of the engines below their feet and the sounds of the heaters spreading precious warmth throughout the large airship.

"When did you take over from Lawrence? You're looking a little more peaked than usual." The ever-observant Blue Rogue sat against one of the idle control panels.

"Around ten," Don replied easily. "I'm still good for a while more, if the merc's snoozing away." He glanced up at the digital clock on the wall. "Six-twenty." David and Fina were usually awake early out of habit, but for the more laid-back Esperanzan this was noteworthy. He let out a yawn to punctuate his point. "Ugh."

David was about to say something else, when the voice of Tikatika burst through one of the talking-tubes. The lookout said in a clear voice over the howling winds, "_Bridge, this is the Crow's Nest. I have spotted an unidentified object, it heads towards us. I do not believe it to be a ship_."

"Confirmed," Don replied. "Thanks, man." The pilot shut the tube again to stop the flow of cold air and sighed in relief as warmth returned to his hand. "I seriously admire that Ixa'takan for going out there, even in heavy wrappings, and sitting for hours. I'd be frozen solid... there!" He pointed to it, and his friends both looked up. The new discovery was but a speck in the distance, but was obviously different from the icebergs of their surroundings.

Without being told to, the pilot turned the ship. The _Delphinus_ responded, shifting around between several jagged icebergs. The nose now pointed almost directly for the creature, which appeared to be coming closer as well. David squinted, grabbing his skyglass and magnifying the aspect of the flier. He examined it as it approached, taking in all the details.

It looked like a large insect viewed from the top. Its thicker lower body tapered off to the large top webbing of thin ice. It wobbled in the arctic breezes but appeared adept in manipulating them with the net and small appendages scattered around the lower body. The monster was so foreign in appearance that David was struck speechless for several moments. "What a weird looking thing," He said. "Arcadia holds a bunch of surprises every day for me. Fina? What is that?"

"I don't know," Fina admitted. "There is some information about the Lands of Ice and the ancient Purplites that has been gifted to me, but our intelligence does not cover modern life in this region."

"Think it's hostile?" Don asked. Many of the exotic life-forms on Arcadia were perfectly harmless, but the majority were at least fiercely territorial. Many species of animals had been hunted by human beings for their own safety, and monster populations were a constant danger for traditional sailing voyages. Despite its frail appearance he could tell it was enormous, taller than their own ship by his estimation. The monster possessed no obvious natural weapons, but that didn't mean anything in the uncharted regions of the skies.

"It's vanishing," David said in surprise, zooming his glass in closer. "No, wait, it's turning to the side... that thing is so thin I can barely see it anymore! It's like a sheet of flimsy paper. Let's get closer and have a look, the Sailors' Guild might pay well for info on this new creature." The concept of such a thing being dangerous failed to enter his mind until, without warning, it opened fire.

Spikes of magical ice lunged for them at incredible speeds. There were five shards, and the first four went too far off and missed the _Delphinus_. In their wake, a faint trail of sparkling magic faded like vapor into the chilled air. Don reacted, slamming the wheel to one side, and the battleship responded to his command. The fifth shot was more accurate, and slammed into the prow despite this evasive action.

The ice shattered, but the force of impact shook the entire ship and nearly threw everyone to the deck. Fina cried out in surprise, gripping a nearby control panel with all of her strength to steady herself. Don tossed his loqua bottle aside, taking the wheel in both hands while he brought the ship into another set of erratic maneuvers.

"Well, I think we know it doesn't like guests," David said. He turned to the talking-tubes and the PA system controls, and flicked then all on. "_Attention, all hands, man your general quarters. We are under attack by a flying spider-ice-paper thing, if you couldn't tell from the shaking. Move it!"_ The Vice Captain closed the circuits again and looked over as another wave of shots came at them. "Do you see the vector?"

"I'm trying," Don replied irritably. He was still slightly groggy and drunk, which actually made it easier, since the _goal_ was to fly erratically and avoid damage. In this manner, he abused the steering wheel and made the ship pull off turns it wasn't designed to do.

"Fina, charge the Moonstone Cannon," David ordered. "Let's get this over with, I don't want to know what else it can do." The next hit tossed him over the console, sending pain through his chest as he struggled back to his feet. "Son of a bitch!" He resisted the urge to either cuss further or bend over on the floor, instead opting to repeat his message over the PA.

The hatch to the bridge swung open, and in walked the other Vice Captain of the ship. The woman had close-cropped black hair and yellow-tinted skin, and a sinewy form under a suit of armor made out of scales and leather. Her blade hung off her belt to one side, one of her hands resting warily on it. Naomi Takako called out, "What is that?" as she spotted their assailant.

"Spider-ice-paper thing," David replied. "Didn't you hear the announcement? Just started taking potshots at us for no damn reason- brace!" This time they were ready, and nobody was dislodged by the shivering floor. "The only good thing is that despite being annoying, it doesn't look like these ice things have the power to punch through our forward armor. Shit, where are our _guns_?!" He fumed to his comrades.

"_Wasshapennin_?" A young girl called over the talking-tubes from the secondary batteries, buried deep within the steel airship. Belle commanded most of the guns aboard the ship, minus the main battery which was handled by a bulky soldier named Khazim.

"Belle, we need to start returning fire," David replied. "Naomi, manage communications. Fina, step aside, let me handle the cannon and go to the throttle. Don, can't you dodge them faster?" According to the gages, their superweapon was still gathering energy in the magnetic coils located in the main body of the ship.

"No," The Esperanzan flatly replied. "I do anything more and we'll stall. Gotta keep engine exertions at sane levels until I got someone in Engineering who can compensate for overcharge."

A moment passed and then the ship rumbled once again, but this time it was softer and a great deal more comforting. A dozen cannons mounted on top of the polished metal deck belched smoke and flame into the morning sky, sending advanced explosive shells out at the monster. The first wave was inaccurate, and simply exploded in fiery patterns to the left of the creature.

"Why is something always waiting to shoot at us when we go to new places?" The loud clatter of boots against metal made David turn his head, to see two teenagers run onto the bridge. The girl was dragging the more disheveled boy by the arm, which looked ready to fall off.

Aika was a pretty girl, even sleep-deprived and harried as she was now. Her long, flowing red hair was usually tied up in an intricate braid that closely resembled a scarecrow, but now hung freely downwards in semi-tangled strands. Her skin was well-tanned and held a body of ready muscle from years of piracy, although she had curved out from puberty very nicely too. Instead of her usual yellow one-piece dress, she was garbed in light-blue pajama pants and shirt.

Being led by the hand by his lifelong friend and confidant, Vyse Dyne didn't look much better than she did from a readiness perspective. His thick brown hair was long and messy at the best of times, but now it looked slightly humorous in its disarray. His scarred face was lacking his usual glass eyepatch, but out of reflex he tried to magnify the distant attacker anyway. Vyse didn't even have a shirt, but simply a pair of grey pants.

"Because they're jealous," David supposed. "You two don't look so well, but we'll deal with that later." He handed Vyse his expensive gold-rimmed skyglass. "Check it out. That thing is freaky, but we don't think it can do much real damage as long as we're facing it."

"Why ain't we shooting back-" As he asked that question, every gun on the _Delphinus_ simultaneously howled out. The force made the crew on the bridge stumble, but they all watched as dozens of rounds shot straight for the creature. The proximity shells peppered the area of the thin flying monster, shaking it with several heated blasts. As the boom of cannon rolled back into the airtight compartment, so did boisterous laughter.

"_Take that, ya ugly paperweight_," Khazim the gunner declared over the talking system. The man was a hot-tempered artillery chief from the desert nation of Nasr, and so was already irritated by the cold of the Lands of Ice. The fact that he was enjoying a good sleep before being so rudely awoken didn't help, either, and he relished the sound of his cannons firing and reloading. "_Eat it_!"

"How is that guy so energetic so early in the fuckin' morning?" Marco the street-urchin appeared next down the hallway. The small red-headed Valuan boy was profane enough by usual standards, although he was silenced at the sight of their enemy. "What is that?"

"That's the question on everyone's minds," David sighed. "Don, look, it's changing somehow!" He pointed towards the creature. The icy spider-web had begun to glow and pulsate. "Looks like it's charging up for an attack, although I could be full of it."

"Or Option C, all of the above," The pilot said. "Don't worry, I'm a leaf on the wind." He looked at the speedometer and the other controls near him, as they began to stop spinning. "Hey, Hans and Brabham are finally up." He chuckled. "Time to get interesting. Throttle to 120, Fina. 140 on my mark." The Silvite obeyed, shoving the golden lever as far down as it would go. Immediately the floor began to shake more, and the ship was filled with the roar of its own turbines.

They picked up more speed, moving incredibly quickly. Don tried to evade the many icebergs, but scraped several with the maneuvering wings of the craft. The monster pumped out more and more ice-shots and sent them out, imbuing each wave with more power. When it managed to strike the side-armor, it burrowed straight through the metal with a horrible ripping screech. The ship rocked backwards, knocking aside a smaller chunk of ice like it was nothing.

"Leaf, my ass," David groaned. "Vyse, the Moonstone Cannon is jacked up and good to go. As soon as we're in position we can blast that thing to Deep Sky."

Lawrence seemed much more organized and much less panicked than his shipmates when he idly walked through the open hatch to the bridge. His long black hair covered most of his high, tight face, and his purple flight jacket did the same for his thin form. With his arms crossed, he surveyed the situation for several moments before speaking up, "This is it? Might be good practice for Don."

"Good idea," Aika giggled, stifling a yawn at the same time. "Don, show us what you got against this little bastard, so we know you can do it against the bigger enemies." At her behest, the drunk turned the ship about so they now faced the creature. "Yeah, face-to-face confrontation! We're lined up to fire, Vyse!"

"How do you know that's its face?" Lawrence asked dryly. "Could be trying to bolt."

"S-shut up! I'm the one driving here, and I say we've got this bastard dead to rights either way," Don retorted quickly.

The captain of the ship sighed. "Moonstone Cannon, fire, then." Most of his enthusiasm would take a while to return, even with adrenaline pumping through his veins. David slammed the controls and underneath them gears began to turn.

The prow of the _Delphinus_ split and began to open like the petals of a blooming flower. The thick metal plates made way for a single long black barrel, with thin magnets twisting around it like a screw design. Waves of magical energy began to charge at the front, creating a huge ball of purple light like a beacon. At the same time, David observed their enemy begin to glow again, only this time its body was luminous.

Their beam weapons fired together. The force of the Moonstone Cannon lanced through the air, parallel to a great cobalt spear of power. Both of the attacks glancingly hit, but this affected the creature more than it did the heavy armored airship. The spider-web began to partially melt away, having some sort of effect on its magical powers even as it was knocked off-balance. The _Delphinus_ lost a huge chunk of armor to the opposite side, but their hull wasn't even breached.

Everyone shut their eyes because of the blinding light, but moments later it was gone again. All they saw was the cold blue sky, the icebergs encircling the battle, and their foe. Several began to cheer as they saw the thing loose its ability to stay airborne and plunge downwards. Luckily for it, the thing was over a particularly large shelf of ice, and landed roughly on that instead of falling to Deep Sky.

"Yes! Right in the _face_," David relished angrily. The creature that had woken most of them up rather rudely would be getting no mercy today. The_Delphinus_ swung around and began to hover, everyone looking over the side at the monster. It was still alive, but unable to float. The creature tried to move its tiny body and legs, but it was to no avail, especially with the remainder of the ice net weighing it down. "Let's leave it."

"Agreed," Vyse nodded. "Let's hope there's no more of those things." They turned around towards the south and set out again. The crew relaxed from combat alert, the sleepier ones quickly returning to their bunks. Most of them, however, elected to stay awake and begin their morning. Between the many people aboard, the _Delphinus_ soon became a hive of activity. The gunners were ordered to keep their charges free of ice and ready for another fight, while their chefs, Polly and Urala, whipped up an enormous early-breakfast feast.

Luke and Rodgers had come to the bridge. The two teenagers were, like Aika, childhood friends of Vyse's. They all grew up on Pirate Island together, learning how to fight and fly. Luke's mottled brown hair had grown long, and was confined in a thin ponytail going down his muscled back. He wore a clean ruby-red sailing tunic and black leather pants, his sword slung across the shoulder. Rodgers was a pale-skinned girl with brooding eyes and a long black overcoat. Her silver moonstone daggers were holstered inside hidden pockets in her jacket. "Hey, Vyse," Luke said.

"Hey," He replied happily. "Haven't heard much from you two in a while, what's been happening?"

Rodgers chuckled. "Plenty. But most of it's stuff you can already guess. Um... when we find that lost city that Fina was talking about, Glacia, we'd like to come with you."

Luke agreed readily with her. "Yeah. We are supposedly Marines, you know, and you could always use the extra help. Plus, I'd rather be out there exploring than in here half-freezing myself to death."

"It's probably colder down below the ice," Vyse said. "But I don't mind if you come along. Go around and see who else wants to join us, and who wants to stay aboard, while you're at it. I definitely want Piastol and Doc along to help us with the cold, and possibly the Yafutomans." They talked for a few minutes about other things, and then took their leave from the command deck.

He sighed, watching them depart and observing the obvious awkward attraction between the two pirates. _Reminds me of two people I knew a short while ago. Hope for their sake Aika gets extra nosy again_. The captain of the ship was about to set out for the Mess Hall himself, leaving Lawrence alone in the huge room.

Before he could leave, however, the hatch swung open again and the rotund form of Osman stepped through. The Nasrian merchant was draped in large gold-painted layers of coats, even with her weight being unused to the cold. Her chubby, ill-contented face was partially obscured behind her large violet glasses. A foreign cat perched atop her expensive hat, occasionally yawing and mewing feebly. Osman was in charge of the affairs of money for the crew, and was generally not a person to go to for conversation. He started out, waving to her. "Come for an audience with the King?"

Osman snorted. "Hardly. Come to talk with you about business. Specifically, a new opportunity that has presented itself. This venture will be inexpensive to us, but will reap great dividends, I believe."

Despite any charisma deficiency, Vyse had known her to be smart with finances in her tenure aboard the ship, so he had a seat on the map table. "Go ahead."

"In Nasr, ice is obviously a very, very rare commodity. People will pay enormous sums to obtain ice. Ice is somewhat of a symbol of status for the higher merchant classes. Sure, all people can afford refrigeration and air-conditioning, but to cool one's home with genuine ice supplies? Anyway, my point is that we're currently swimming in what is basically pure gold. If we were to haul in some ice with the skiffs into the empty cargo bays and insulate them, we could make an insane profit margin in Nasr. It would effortlessly account for the extra weight."

He grinned widely. "You got the cunning of a pirate, Osman." Surely the lifetime Blue Rogue meant it as a compliment, but he could tell she wasn't receptive at all to such a concept. "I like that idea. Talk to David and Naomi and we can arrange that easy. We could always use more gold."

"Glad to be of service," She purred in an unintentional mirror of the cat on her hat. "Now let's go eat. According to Polly, she was almost ready to serve the first batch when I came to find you."

Vyse almost asked Lawrence to join them, but remembered the pilot was diligently navigating the chains of icebergs. He was also one of the most antisocial people in his employ, which didn't help. In parting, he merely said to Lawrence, "Call if you spot land or trouble. Preferably both," And followed Osman into the metal hallway.

By now he had gotten a nearly reflexive knowledge of his craft, the days of wandering for minutes and hours aimlessly long gone. They made it to the Mess Hall quickly, the massive room full of noise and light. The upper level was ringed by expensive paintings, depicting airships and beautiful sunsets. A chandelier of delicate Valuan design hung above the room, all of the magical candle slots burning a slow and warm light. The lower level had countless dining tables of fine wood over a royal red carpet. The crew was spread out amongst the tables, all eagerly awaiting the food.

Marco and Khazim had begun to chant, "Food, food, food, food," in a highly immature way, punctuating each repeat by banging their fists against the table. David made a big show of pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, like a confounded parent of delinquent children.

Belle snuck up behind both the massive Nasrian and the diminutive Valuan, and punched both of them in the back of the head. "It's done when it's done!" Apparently, this was a forceful impact, as it was enough to make them stop chanting. They gingerly rubbed the back of their skulls as Belle hopped back to her own seat cheerily.

"Shouldn't we be waiting for the sleepers, too?" Vyse asked as he descended the staircase to the lower level. Eyes looked up to their captain and a chorus of disorderly greetings floated through the air at him. Several people booed his suggestion, however.

"I say let 'em starve," Don suggested from one of the front tables. Cheers broke out this time.

"Well, since you're so eager to _help_ out your comrades in arms, maybe_you_ should be the one to go around to _all_ the dorms and wake up _all_ the sleeping crew," Vyse suggested, grinning in a much less friendly fashion. "Better hurry before the eggs get cold."

The pilot was stunned for a second. He stood up angrily, and stomped off, muttering, "_That's what Aika said,_" Under his breath before he left the Mess Hall.

Vyse took a seat at the head table, where David, Naomi, Aika, and Fina were waiting with Prince Enrique. The crown prince of the Valuan Empire was a fair-skinned, gentle teenager who seemed to not fit in at all with the Blue Rogues around him. He had pure blonde hair carefully maintained under a royal purple beret, and his lethe body was wrapped in a suit of royal fencing armor. He had stolen the armor, and the ship, in order to aid Vyse in his escape months back from jail. Vyse took the last remaining seat while Osman stalked off to the back moodily.

"Early morning, everyone thinks they're funny," Aika said darkly.

0-0

Sheets of pure, undefiled snow coated the continent, which appeared to be made completely of ice, in patchy drifts. The snow swirled and tumbled about, at the mercy of the powerful gusts of wind that continuously blasted over the polar region. The layers of blue and white flowed out to the opposite horizon, the sky clear and sharply blue against the jagged skyline. The _Delphinus_ passed quietly over the coast, headed towards the mountainous inland area. Many crew members were crowding around the viewports in awe of the huge uncharted lands before them.

"In the Old World, the Purple Civilization was almost as advanced as the Silvites in terms of technology," Fina said. "Due to the harsh conditions, they became a solitary people, and even with survival so hard they all became incredibly intellectual, cold, just like their lands, and distrustful of outsiders. Their capitol, as I said, was Glacia, buried under the ice. Even after the Rains we will no doubt find an intact city."

"What about their Gigas?" Naomi asked, standing at the viewport with Marco and Piastol. So far, despite all efforts, the crew had ended up fighting every Gigas they found. The ancient machines of war were supremely tough, and possibly their most dangerous enemies, even with the Armada on their tails.

"Plergoth," The Silvite said after a moment of thought. "The most mysterious of the Gigas. It was fashioned like an enormous arcwale, and controlled ice elemental powers beyond comprehension. Of all the Gigas, records are sketchiest on Plergoth, especially where the weapon was buried. It might be near Glacia, however, and hopefully trapped under this ice and snow."

"Hope we don't wake it up by our merciless crashing through the ice layers of this continent," David said off-handedly. "So, if the Rains of Destruction didn't kill off the Purplites like it did to everyone else, where are they? If they're still alive they haven't made contact with the rest of Arcadia yet, and even Valua would be easy pickings for an Old World Civilization."

"Nobody knows," Fina replied. "The Silver Shrine's records on this continent abruptly stopped when the Rains fell, only to pick up near the present time. All I can say is that nobody lives in Glacia anymore."

"There are a lot of reasons for a civilization to disappear," Enrique spoke up thoughtfully. "Maybe a plague hit their realm, or maybe they all went off to war when the Rains came down and were killed. It's all just speculation now."

"To think that a whole country could just vanish..." Aika leaned over her control panel to get a better look out of the nearest view-screen.

"We should be able to see it from the air," The Prince continued, abruptly changing the subject. "According to the Imperial research vessels, they could clearly observe many parts of the ancient city, but just couldn't get in to explore it personally."

Naomi was closest to the talking-tube control system. She opened the one to the Crow's Nest and said, "Lookout, be on high alert and observe the terrain. Our target should be visually obvious." Tikatika acknowledged her order and she closed the pipe, cutting off the frigid air that had poured forth from it.

A few moments later the roar of the heaters sputtered and tapered down to nothing. A set of ominous clicks echoed out from the vents on the celling. David looked up and let out a long sigh. "The heater failed again." He got on the PA system. "Engineering, status report. Where is our environmental controls?"

Hans replied quickly, "_We're working as hard as we can! This Valuan stuff wasn't meant to put out so much energy for extended periods! Someone didn't refill the coolant and it's been overheating for hours and hours through the night. We're going to switch to using up Blue Moonstones to keep the temperature down, even though that'll mean we have less maneuverability._"

Lawrence said, "Go ahead. We won't be needing to pull any more hard turns, just breaking through ice."

"Whatever it takes. Blue Rogues improvise," David reminded him. "Just keep us from freezing, or give me time to put on another jacket. Bridge out." He clicked off the PA and sighed. "Vyse, speaking of which. Doc is worried about the Nasrians on the crew. They might have a tough time adjusting, especially when our heaters finally crap out."

"So if we find a fight here, we'll be less able to move and half of my gunners, the bigger and stronger ones, might catch colds," Vyse shrugged. "Tell them to layer up, or whatever Doc wants to do. And if our heaters go down we'll all be having tough times."

A noticeable chill had begun to run through the air of the bridge before the vents gave a solid rumble and began to spew blessed warmth again. The spectators amongst the crew had retreated from the bridge, back to quarters or their posts after seeing the Lands of Ice personally. Vyse himself was considering going down to the Mess Hall for an early lunch before the Crow's Nest reported a sighting.

"_The ice is beginning to thin considerably, and there are some specks ahead. I think they're below the surface_," Tikatika reported, his thick and low voice battling with the arctic gusts of wind around him through the tube. "_Directly ahead_."

"Nice job, Tikatika," Vyse couldn't help but smirk happily. "Keep us posted when you can get a better look at the objects." He switched to the PA system. "I think we just found Glacia, guys. Anyone who wants to come after the first team, get geared up and ready to go. We'll need to dress warm."

0-0

The ship rumbled and shook while the ground tilted forward enough to make one loose their footing. Everyone grabbed for something to steady themselves as the _Delphinus_' turbines screamed and roared. The battleship was literally punching through the ice, tilted downwards and driving its nose like a shovel into very hard dirt. Lawrence carefully gripped the wheel, making sure to keep the powerful beast around him under control. "Depth?"

"We've almost penetrated the ceiling," Naomi said, leaning over the console and holding several levers with all of her strength. "Main fans at 100,000 RPM and holding steady, the reactor is still churning out a hundred and thirty percent."

"Pull it back to one hundred percent now," The mercenary ordered. "We'll reduce power as we burrow so we only hollow out a huge hole through the ice, and not actually penetrate full through."

"This is the _thin_ part?" David asked skeptically, leaning against the Map Table, which was bolted down to the deck. "The_easy_ part?"

"For us? Of course," Aika replied, sitting right next to him and clinging to Vyse and Fina.

"Now sixty percent," Lawrence said. The engines died down from their cacophony of noise and motion, and the deck started to shake progressively less. "Forty on my mark, and we pull up and out! The ice should be thin enough for a skiff to pierce now." To relieve the enormous strain on their reactor they were skirting the line between too little power and therefore stalling or blowing out the power conduits in Engineering.

Moments later the ship was pulling up and out, and the floor under them became fairly level again. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, people getting shakily back to their feet. Vyse slowly walked over to the view-screens, seeing the huge crater their pirate flagship had dug in the ice. At the huge epicenter sat a sheet of ice about three centimeters thick. "That was some skilled drilling, Lawrence," He said.

"I don't bleed you of gold for nothing," The hired gun replied blandly. "We can go now."

"I'd like to come along," David spoke up. "So let's see... Enrique, Aika, Fina, me, Vyse, Piastol, Doc, Naomi, Luke, and Rodgers... the _Askar_ should be able to ferry that many people at once, I think. We can leave Lawrence in charge, unless you want to come too?" Unsurprisingly, the pilot shook his head negatively. "Didn't think so."

"Sounds like a plan," Vyse confirmed. "Everyone, let's grab our jackets and get down to the lifeboat hangar." They left for the storage bay with the cold-weather gear they purchased at Sailors' Island earlier. Along the way, the others in the expedition joined them. After passing down several flights of stairs, they reached the cavernous room.

In one corner were the newest additions to the crews' cargo- crates secured to the deck and painted with stylized blue Valuan symbols. They broke open the crates, revealing thick, multi-layered jackets, scarves, gloves and boots, and other tools and clothing. The jackets were made of multi-colored thread, and everyone had their pick of a random color. Vyse was pleased to grab the blue and red jacket, even though Aika encouraged him to take the pink one. Everyone covered up as much skin as possible, Enrique even putting on a face-mask to protect himself from wind sheer. Doc advised each of them on keeping warm, and handed out Red Moonstone shards for 'just in case'.

"Better not stay too long," Aika said in mock-concern. "Vyse might freeze solid, and then we'd have to carry him home. Osman might be able to sell him, though. Fina, how much do you think Vyscicles go for on the Nasrad black market?"

The Silvite giggled and said, "I'm not the one to ask about money, remember? Besides, I don't think anyone would pay too much for Vyse."

Vyse fixed them both with a suitably ferocious glare and said, "I'd threaten you both with some harsh punishment but Aika might enjoy it too much. Everyone ready?" The pirates acknowledged this with a cheer. "Alright, then. Let's go!" His wandering spirit propelled him to run ahead of the others, letting them follow him down to the lifeboat hangar.

The party all climbed aboard the partially wooden skiff, which was larger than their many metal lifeboats. He worked the controls of the doors, and then leapt aboard himself as the blast doors slowly slid open. As soon as they cracked, blisteringly cold winds slapped them, causing them to avert their faces. With their insulated clothing, however, they could endure it, even though the _Askar_'s pilothouse wasn't even sealed.

"I'll fly," David volunteered. "Don gave me a few lessons and I want to try it out. Where's the throttle... oh. Hold on to your souls, heh." With that highly comforting declaration Gilder's Vice Captain started the engine. The maneuvering fins began to flap, lifting them above the magnetized rails and into the air. The sailboat's sheets had all been rolled in, as the turbulent winds would have rendered them useless anyway. "Even this thing should be able to break the thin remaining ice layer above the city. Off we fly, then!"

He did a competent job at the helm, taking them from the rear of the_Delphinus_, which hovered a good distance above the surface, to the crater. They descended through the newly-carved, jagged bowl of frozen water, until reaching the bottom. David punched the throttle forward and kept descending, and the bottom of the boat smacked up against the ice, sending everyone tumbling. "Sorry," He yelled out. "Should have warned you all."

"You're still better than Aika- ow!" Vyse's reply was cut short by his wail of pain, as her fist somehow got through his thick clothing and hit the teenage boy's ribs.

The_Askar_ made short work of the ice. As they finally penetrated, the ice that was shattered fell in noisy shards. The splintered pieces descended into the misty bottom of the huge cavern, under the city. As they looked around, they found that the stone buildings appeared to be built on the top of the ice and growing down like stalactites. Luckily, they had broken through a huge gap in the city structure, and the buildings around them were all untouched and still 'grounded' solidly in the ice.

Glacia itself was very purple, all of its bricks semi-reflecting the hue of the ice around them. Devoid of all signs of life, even those of monsters, the frozen city was shrouded in frigid mists that thickened as the buildings drooped lower and lower. Complex networks of sturdy walkways connected all of the structures.

Everyone was stunned for a little while, looking at the city, which was strangely beautiful in a way and ominous in another. "So this is what an Old World city looked like," Doc said, breathing shallowly. "Amazing."

"Certainly a lot to explore here," David said. "I'm going to put us down on what looks like a dock." No ships remained, but the stone walkways stretched out and abruptly stopped, strongly resembling the air-docks of Sailors Island or Nasrad. The skiff easily fit on one of the platforms and he touched down, leaving enough room on either side for people to stand comfortably. After locking the controls, he emerged to join the others, pulling his radio out from his jacket's pocket. "Lawrence, this is David. We've made landfall inside the city. Everything looks so quiet, but we're going to look around some more before we give the all-clear."

"_Affirmative, David_," Lawrence replied simply, and then terminated the transmission.

A small pebble laid upon the otherwise pristine ancient marble floor. Aika kicked it, and watched it fall. After a short way, the fog engulfed it into the invisible maw stretching below them. "Everyone, watch your footing. That looks like a long way down."

With Piastol in the lead, they moved down the dock, until they reached a set of gates that barred their progress. At their approach, they silently slid open, as if inviting them forward. The Blue Rogues obliged, moving through a long hallway with ancient, rotted machines hanging from the ceiling. A piece of glass replaced one of the walls, and showed a reflection of them. All of their weapons glowed an angry red against their silhouettes, and they watched it for a few moments. "This must have been some kind of security station," David guessed. "Well, nobody here to check our luggage now, I guess. Let's keep moving."

The hallway emerged into a huge lobby-like area with decks and strange-looking terminals. The mats and pillows of the couches had degraded over time, but the metal supports looked in perfect condition. Rodgers sat in one of the chairs and found that it still supported her weight. "Old World stone lasts so long," She said, astounded.

"The Gigas are proof that people back then built their tech to last," Luke said. They went to the other end of the lobby, and to large double-doors that needed to be manually pushed open. They emerged onto a spiral ramp that led both farther up and down. "Which way?"

"I say we split up," Vyse said. "Aika, Fina, Enrique, Luke and Rodgers, let's go high. Doc, Piastol, David, Naomi, go low. Watch it, the fog's already kind of dense." Before anyone could make a comment, he started walking up. The girls and Enrique followed him quickly, with Luke trailing behind and Rodgers in the back.

Piastol was again leading her group, this time downwards, with David closely following. They went down several floors until they reached what looked like a crossroads, with several branching paths. One of the ramps continued downward, and so that was the route they chose. Descending further through the city, they began to feel the chill in the misty air even through their coats.

"Getting harder to see," Doc said. "Let's move a little more slowly, guys. Even though most of this material is intact a path could be out and we would never know about it."

"Yeah," David agreed. "Leave it to the Old World to fail us at exactly the wrong time." He took another step forward, now almost side-by-side with Piastol despite his own warning. Thus, he fell in the same instant she did when the floor underneath them gave way to air.


	2. Trials

Chapter Two- Trials

Sometimes David got frustrated with the mixed messages that fate would often send him. Yes, he did just fall down a misty precipice, but it was only an eight-meter drop to an intact walkway below. In that way, fate had smiled upon him. Especially when he considered that his hand was in the painfully strong grip of Piastol, keeping him from a fall that would have doubtless hurt. A lot. His legs kicked in an instinctive fashion against the frigid air of Glacia.

The former bounty hunter had demonstrated her almost inhuman reflexes, catching a handhold on the jagged edge of the marble walkway and at the same time clasping David's outstretched hand. "Hold on," She ordered. David was not the strongest of people, but every once of his power was now focused on keeping himself in her grip.

"Piastol! David!" The others also reacted quickly, rushing to the now-visible edge in alarm. Naomi and Doc quickly saw they were both alright, at least for the moment.

"Mind the drop," The Vice Captain grunted, squeezing his eyes shut. "Sailing might keep one fit but obviously not enough... I'm having trouble holding on. I vote for you pulling us up now, please."

They did so, grabbing her arm and pulling together with all of their might. They managed, with some difficulty, to get Piastol over the edge, and she pulled David up with her. He gasped, laying against the blessedly firm stone ground and trying to regain his wits while Piastol brushed herself off and stood up. David eventually got to his own feet, and looked over at her. "Thanks, Piastol. Without you I'd have fallen."

"Don't worry about it," She replied quietly. "Come, let us find an alternate path downwards." Oddly, all of the other walkways appeared to be in excellent condition. The mists made it hard to see ahead, so progress was slow and steady, to avoid any more pitfalls. Looming in one of the tower-intersections was a huge blockade of ice, slowly taking its form out of the distance. "The way ahead looks blocked."

"Hold on, there's something in the ice," Naomi said, squinting. "It's... a giant worm?"

"Yeah, cause this day isn't weird enough as is," Doc scoffed. As he got closer he paused. "Yup. Giant worm. The... head? is wriggling around outside of it, though, but its body is firmly trapped." The insect they were watching was buried deep within the old ice, and was probably magical.

Apparently the creature was not in a friendly mood. The familiar purple runes of magic appeared around the perimeter of the jagged ice. The runes glowed with power as a low charging noise filled the dry air. Physically it looked incapable of attacking, but there was no telling how strong it was magically. The Blue Rogues stepped back in alarm.

Piastol narrowly avoided being skewered when a number of stalagmites ripped free of the ceiling and stabbed downwards. The uneven ice spikes broke apart when they hit the impervious ancient marble path, falling in little shards over the edge into oblivion. "Anyone know fire magic?" Piastol asked, as she charged straight at the monster and drew her scythe. Testing the ice, she found that even her Silver moonstone blade couldn't cut through it. She didn't even make a dent with her best swing. The creature began to charge up another unknown spell.

"No, but my fancy revolver just might," David said, drawing his pistol. No longer relegated to a flintlock like most people, he had used a small fortune to purchase one of the new military-grade sidearms. The revolver was capable of firing six reliable shots and was easily reloaded, a huge improvement in all ways. Gripping it firmly, he drew a bead on the monster's bottom part that stuck out of the ice. "Get back, Piastol." She obeyed quickly. "Firing!"

Accounting for recoil, he emptied all six shots, enchanted with a red moonstone, right into the enemy. The worm writhed within its melting ice cocoon as its bottom was burned and scorched. The explosions also shoved it backwards, nearly off one side of the precipice. Disrupted in its casting, stray purple magic shot off in harmless orbs that vanished into the mist.

As David reloaded, Naomi drew her katana and stepped forward with Piastol. The women took the opportunity and began to slice at the nearly helpless monster. With its shell partially gone, it was easy pickings. They buried their blades into the soft creature and shoved forward, combining their strengths and bringing it the rest of the way off the edge. Pulling back as it teetered, a good kick was all it took to doom the creature.

They watched it fall until the heavy mists below claimed it, and let out a sigh of relief. "Everyone ok?" Doc asked, just to make sure.

"Glacia is seeming less welcoming to me with each passing minute," David replied drily. "Let's go." Piastol, like always, felt it was her duty to lead the group down the ramp leading to a building nearby. The pirates walked onto the thick balcony, and approached what was obviously a door of some kind.

"It's sealed," Naomi observed as it didn't open at their approach. She tried to pull one of the sides back, but the thick slab resisted her efforts. "Should we try to blast our way in?"

"Nah, let's not disturb anything until we get back with the others and know more about this place," Doc shook his head. They kept moving, to the other side which had a small platform that appeared to lead nowhere. "Complete dead-end?" Looking out at the vista ahead, he saw no walkways between them and another distant structure.

"Floating platform," David said, stepping easily onto the discolored stone construct. He had heard Vyse's tales about Rixis, and had a hypothesis. "... Either that or this piece of structure has been weakened, and that's what the crack in the ground is." His pessimism was unfounded, however, as the platform raised a few inches and set off slowly into the air. It was headed directly for the building across the chasm. The Vice Captain looked back and grinned at the others, yelling, "I'll send it back over for you all when I get to the other side!"

As he approached the building, he saw another network of walkways and an entire new district forming through the fog. _This city is enormous_, David thought. _It'll take a long while to explore all of it, especially if we run into any more 'surprises'_. With a gentle, well-oiled click, the platform attached to the veranda of the large building. Even after ages of disuse, the machine functioned perfectly.

David stepped off, easily thinking of a way to send the platform back. He put one foot backwards and then pulled it up. The machine, feeling the pressure for enough time, took off on a journey to the other side. He waved to the others, who were extremely distant by now. Doc waved back.

"Things might actually be going our way," Naomi noticed. "Let's all go now." The platform was slow yet steady, and their patience had begun to wear thin when a shape appeared behind David. "What's that behind him?" She pointed for extra emphasis.

"Let me see, my eyes are very good," Piastol said. The snow-haired girl squinted, concentrating fully. "It appears to be... a Zivilyn Bane. We have to warn him, he'll be taken completely by surprise!" Needless to say, this announcement stunned both of them, and they urgently motioned to him before their platform had even arrived.

Curiosity prompted him to wonder why his crewmates were all waving their arms around like they had mental conditions. David blinked rapidly, and then turned to look behind him, and straight down the barrel of a long military-grade carbine. Wielding the carbine was a man in thick layers of brown, most of his face covered with large orange goggles. "Woah," He reacted, stepping backwards reflexively and nearly off the edge. "Zivilyn Bane," He growled angrily, recovering himself as the thief-assassin took a step to follow him. "How in the Moons' Grace did you get into this city?! We had to use the most advanced ship in the world."

"It isn't hard to access ancient sites, if you've got the sort of wisdom we do," The man said, his harsh, gravely voice cold like the air around him. "Glacia's bound to be bursting with valuable artifacts and tech."

The order of murderous 'collectors' was known both collectively and as individuals as Zivilyn Bane. Most people of the world feared them, and rightfully so. They had absconded with hundreds of priceless items throughout many years of operation. A Bane's only care was for the coin brought by their goods, and not the trail of bodies and tears they might have to leave to get those goods. To have one facing you on the precipice of a misty drop with a powerful firearm was, David decided, worse than simply hanging by a hand in the air.

This Bane was more talkative than previous ones he had met, most of whom had tried to kill him to keep their latest heist more secret. Being a witness was a cardinal sin in their eyes, and he couldn't help feel that discovering one in Glacia wouldn't be good for his health. David suddenly cursed the platform's sluggish pace, as it only now reached the opposite building.

"You all show up at the worst possible times," David said. "So, what did you take?"

"Even if you're a dead man, I don't think I'm going to tell you," He replied, steadily holding the carbine right on where he guessed David's heart to be. "I could bribe you to shut you up about this, but information about our ability to move is very delicate. I think I'll just put a slug in you. Don't worry, you'll die within moments, or I'll just push you off the side."

Unlike in books and plays, David knew that he was in a very real risk of being killed in the next few moments. His eyes widened slightly as he pondered the situation. His revolver was holstered on the inside of one of his jacket layers, and would take several moments to draw even for his practiced hand. His enemy was no doubt a hardened combat veteran and a marksman, not that skill was needed to aim at this point-blank distance.

"Well, shit," He concluded, giving a long sigh that made his warm breath form a cloud in the air between them. Looking back, he saw the platform wasn't even half-way to him. Help was not an option at the moment. "Go ahead, then, you bastard."

The single shot echoed defiantly in the huge confines of the ancient city. Doc, Naomi and Piastol watched as David's form crumpled like folding paper. Naomi let out an inadvertent scream and Doc looked away. Piastol gave no reaction for several seconds, just watching the man lie there. The Bane knelt down, forgetting about the other Blue Rogues and checking for signs of life.

Doc's adopted daughter suddenly said, "Naomi, I want a boost. I'm going to get there."

It took a moment for her to process what she was saying. Naomi took a deep breath and nodded nervously. "Okay." _Oh, David... No..._ The Tenkou leader steeled herself enough, and began casting. The runic blue circle flickered several times, but a strong gust of arctic winds appeared magically. Piastol leaped forward, springing with all the great power of her well-trained muscles. She felt the sensation of floating as the wind carried her almost twenty meters to the edge of the veranda.

The Zivilyn Bane reached for his carbine and pivoted, firing twice from the hip. Both bullets missed Piastol, and she landed with a heavy thud on the stone. A single look into her dark eyes told of impossible wrath. "You killed him. Now I'm going to kill you."

He laughed. "Maybe. He's still alive I think, hard to tell. Won't be for long, unless you know Riselem, Angel of Death." Piastol had learned a great deal about Silver Magic, but it was all in the Eterni spell line, of death and not life. She now lamented her malicious choice of spells.

First things first. She sliced off his head, kicking the body which spewed blood like a fountain down off the edge quickly. Having disposed of the Bane in such a graphic and efficient manner, she went to David's side and leaned over. A large, bloody and gaping hole had been torn in his jacket right over his chest. The purplish marble floor was now strewn with so much blood from the two men. "David!" She yelled at him, and got no reply, or any indications of life. "Moons..."

The platform finally made it over. Doc and Naomi joined her. Naomi found her usual calm completely melting away at the sight of David, beginning to sob. Doc, used to such horrors, took control. "Grab his radio," He ordered. "Get Fina over here, now. We're going to need Silver Magics." In the meantime, he checked and found the faintest of pulses. "Weak, but it's there!" The news relieved the pirates, but Piastol keenly remembered the Bane's last words. "Piastol! Sacrulen with me, now!" She snapped out of it, clapping her hands together and breathing deeply.

Naomi shakily gripped the radio. "Vyse! Vyse! This is Naomi, David's been shot bad! Get Fina over here, now! Hurry!" _He doesn't have long_. Doc saw the exposed wound begin to discolor already from the cold. He took off one of his coat layers, draping it over the bloody hole as a makeshift dressing and to protect from frostbite.

"Moons, Give Me Strength," Doc implored, feeling true conviction through that common chant. Green light surrounded them warmly. Powerful healing magic had begun to work, healing internal and external damage and dissolving the very bullet lodged inside of his heart. The tide was already against them, however, and through his senses he could feel the very life of David slipping away. The Vice Captain's entire body remained inert under their hasty care. _Sounds like the heart is still in-tact and circulating, but it's been heavily damaged_.

"_... What?!_" Vyse replied. "_We're moving now. Where are you guys, anyway?_"

"You'll see the Green Magic from kilometers away," Naomi gasped. "But it's... not going to be enough. We need... Fina's powers to save him..." No matter how many times she scolded herself to try and calm down, it never worked. The only thing she could do now was help from a distance and wait for the Silvite to come.

0-0

Deciding that the foot-paths would be too slow, they had the _Delphinus_ send one of the steel lifeboats with Lawrence himself flying. Vyse, Fina, and Aika climbed aboard. The others agreed to stay behind, although they made their way back to the airport in the meantime.

The powerful healing spells were indeed like flares, and it took no time at all for them to home in on the platform in question. As they approached, the figures of the pirates took shape around mists of green light. A heavy heap laid motionless amidst them, and Vyse magnified it in his view. Forcing down his horror, he said, "That's David alright. He's... not moving."

Aika still had trouble with it. "What? And he was shot? Oh, Moons..."

Lawrence tightly gripped the wheel, putting the boat perfectly alongside the platform veranda. The side of the boat met with the polished marble surface, that was now coated with familiar red fluid. "Fina," Naomi said as they all got out of the boat as quickly as possible, "Hurry! They're trying to repair the physical damage, but it he passes away it won't mean anything!"

Fina had been preparing herself for the sight mentally, but when she looked at David's open, vacant eyes, she nearly lost composure. The only thought against that was that she was needed, and only she could do it. Already, the Silvite had made ready to cast her most powerful magic. Wordlessly, she stepped up, kneeling side him as Doc scooted out of the way. _David... he looks like he's already dead, but I can sense an aura remaining. I hope it's enough to pull him through_.

Unlike Piastol, she had thoroughly studied all branches of Silver Magic, and was the best user of it in the human race. Combined with her innate Silvite powers, she was their best hope. Placing her hands together in prayer, she forced herself to focus. Searching, she quickly found the dwindling silver strand that represented the life of the man before him. It was so faint, and looked ready to sever completely at the gentlest of touches.

She wouldn't allow that. Placing her arms around the cord, she infused her energies to it and slowly began to built it up again. The operation was delicate, and required tremendous stamina. Before any noticeable progress had been made she felt almost ready to faint. "I'm... not strong enough," She gasped out, and everyone reacted.

"Fina! You gotta hang in there!" Vyse yelled at her. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, but began to shiver. _Silver Magic is so powerful, but it looks so easy when she does it. I guess now it's serious_. After a moment, an idea struck him. "Aika! Think you can mange to cast Incremus?" The spell had the power to make lions out of cowards, and fill them with the vigor of the Red Moon itself. It was also the most complicated branch of Red Magics, and few could even safely attempt it.

"Yes," She said, gathering a deep breath of biting air into her lungs. Enough magical energy was swirling around them to visibly affect the fog, making the condensation swirl around them lightly. She ignored the weak tornado and focused on her own efforts, quickly forming a large red circle of glowing runes below her boots. "Moons, Give Her Strength," She implored, firing off the spell.

It looked like she burst aflame, but she felt no heat. From the inside, though, a new force pumped through her veins and cleared her head. It stayed her shaking and filled her with new heights of energy. The empowering spell kept her Riselem up and even strengthened it. The Silvite kept expanding the cord, eventually noticing that it was indeed stronger. Comforted by the effects, she was still relieved when Doc declared, "I've got a stronger pulse! Heart rate's going back up, the physical damage should be reparable." _He's lost so much blood, though_...

"Fina? Is he going to survive?" Piastol asked, probably the most composed out of the group. Even Lawrence was visibly shaken.

Without warning, the astral line snapped. Even with her efforts, David's very spirit was trying to escape their world. She gripped both ends of the fractured rope, forcing them back together, fueled purely by her will. They made contact, refusing with another shot of her Sliver power. "I am _trying_," She replied, again feeling herself begin to fade even with Incremus pumping through her body.

When she had given enough strength to the new fibers in the middle, she again began to focus on the entire strand. Progress was slow, but she did detect it. Everyone watched as silver runes covered her and David's bodies, in awe. Eventually she opened her eyes and said, "He's alive," A millisecond before falling forward. She landed on top of him, asleep instantly. The Incremus spell left, plunging her deep into mental darkness as she simply shut down.

"Fina!" Vyse made sure that she was merely sleeping, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone else let out their collective breaths, as well, and almost everyone had a seat on the gelid stone. The lifeboat continued to float nearby, propeller engine whirring loudly to keep it aloft. "That was close," He said. "What happened here, anyway?"

"David figured out these floating platforms, and had gone ahead alone," Piastol reported. "The Zivilyn Bane took him by surprise, and shot him in the heart. We got there and eliminated him quickly."_I should have stopped him and gone first. I could have taken that Bane out easily_.

"A Bane? Here? Damnit!" Aika growled. "They've been a thorn in our side every time we go somewhere. And now... David..." Even if he was alive for now, a look at David's still unmoving eyes told anyone the vitality was probably limited.

"Lawrence, I want you to take Fina and David back to the _Delphinus_. Doc and Piastol, go with em. The boat can handle five if you're careful about it." Nobody said anything, but the three pirates hefted Fina and gently set her in the back of the waiting boat. Next, they moved David, as Doc continually checked his pulse through the thick coat.

"What now?" Naomi asked quietly. "I recommend we call off the recon for now, and RTS."

"Agreed." Aika watched the metal lifeboat slowly ascend into the welcoming mists. Since the magical flow had been stopped, the fog had slowly stopped again. Now, as usual, it was a curtain across the vast confines of Glacia's cavern. "We should wait until Fina's recovered before moving on, just in case something else happens. And I'm ready to get back where it's warm." The Incremus and the stress had also worn her out, of course.

"... Yeah." Vyse got to his feet slowly. "I left a radio with Luke." He had taken David's radio for himself, and flicked it on. "Hey, guys, we're ready to leave. Get the _Askar_ and move out. We'll send up another flare." It would be quicker than trudging back across the city to the port themselves. Aika summoned a small flame in her hand and held it up, burning magical energy without confining it to a specific spell. The flare stuck out in the cold mists, and soon the _Askar_ was plowing towards them, Luke at the helm.

Their childhood friend pulled up alongside the veranda smoothly, and leaned out of the pilothouse. "How is he?" He asked even as his comrades climbed aboard. Rodgers was leaning against the railing of the main deck in concern. Enrique was near the nose of the longboat, staring out into the distance. _He must be recalling something_, Vyse figured. _Because of David. Best leave him alone for now_.

"They say he'll probably live," Naomi replied. "But it's bad. Fina passed out to keep him alive, expending every ounce of her strength to the job."

"But he'll be fine," Rodgers told everyone. "Especially if Fina and Doc think so." She did have a point- they were the experts about life and death on the crew. However, that didn't stop any of the horrible emotions welling up in everyone. She stared down at the plain, unpolished wooden floor of the skiff as it climbed higher towards the cavern ceiling.

The cold was beginning to seep through even their heavy coats, adding to the numb feeling of the Blue Rogues. Vyse shivered slightly, pulling his outer layers as close as possible to his body. "Even with so much gear, this place is so cold..." He would probably have frozen to death if it wasn't for the coats. David had helped everyone pick out their coats, as only he along with the Yafutomans and Enrique knew a thing about cold-weather survival.

His train of thought only paused when they passed through the gaping hole in the ice sheet and into the open air again. The _Delphinus_ was hovering loyally directly above the hole, its large metal hull a welcome sight. Luke, with a skill that Vyse never knew he had, piloted the boat directly into the lifeboat hangar. The bulkhead slid shut behind them, cutting off the blasts of refrigerant air.

The sweetest warmth they had ever known washed over them in increasing waves, the room heaters churning out almost scalding air. Soon, everyone was enjoying the comfort, and was ready to shed the outer layers of their thick protection. Don was waiting for them, coming alongside the docked boat. "Guys," He spoke up. "Both of em are still out cold. Everyone's shook up about David."

"I imagine so," Naomi replied. "After all, he was only shot."

"Never meant it so," Don countered. "Just wondering Vyse was planning on doing about it." Vyse looked at him, blinking vacantly. "Gah! As captain, you're responsible for morale! David's gonna make it, but everyone's acting like they're prepared for a funeral."

"Yeah, I guess it just reminded us all how dangerous this stuff is. We'll be fine in a while," Vyse insisted, distracted. "After David's awake it'll be good again." _Odds are good that he'll survive, so why am I still so nervous_? "Anyway, the crew's got the day off. We'll try again tomorrow if Fina's awake." _We gotta find that Moon Crystal, even now_.

"I'll be in my room," He declared, walking off even as he took off the inner layers of his jacket. "Tell me the moment something happens."

0-0

Dinner was, as expected, subdued. The furious blood-red sunset had already come and gone, the Lands of Ice getting only a scant twelve hours of sunlight each day. Darkness now enveloped the sky, hiding the lone vessel and its hardy crew. Inside, every light and heater was still pumping, endeavoring to keep everyone comfortable while they ate in the massive Mess Hall.

Everyone tried to cheer each other up, Belle and the kids especially so. Nobody was really sad, but more pensive than anything, and many people took a long time with only themselves as company. Vyse himself had quickly showered and was already asleep, hoping to get a lot of rest for tomorrow.

When he finally woke up, he glanced over at the clock and discovered it was long past eleven o'clock. With dismay that he was never able to break his habit of sleeping so late, he moved to kick off his blankets. He didn't manage to, discovering the source of warmth against him was another person. It was easy to recognize who, exactly, with the cascade of fiery red hair distinguished through the dark room. Aika had obviously come in after he'd passed out and slept like this.

"Good morning," She said, surprising him. "Been waiting for you to wake up." Aika looked up from his chest, their eyes meeting. Before Vyse could reply, she leaned further in, pressing against him and kissing her lover.

Vyse silently enjoyed the long kiss, putting an arm around her under the blanket. Even when they broke apart, their faces were still only inches away. "Hey," He said, feeling his arousal growing. "Thought you were out."

"Nope, just didn't want to wake you up the wrong way," She replied cheerfully, continuing to snuggle him.

Someone chose that very moment to knock loudly on the door, starting both of the pirates and making Aika detach. Without waiting for an answer, Belle opened the door and leaned in, spotting both of them in only their underwear together. The girl blushed deeply and squeaked out, "Sorry! I should have knocked more!" Before slamming the door again.

"W-wha?" Vyse blinked. "Hey, wait, Belle! What the hell was that about?!"

Her voice drifted in through the bulkhead, which she refused to open again. "Fina woke up, and Doc sent me to tell you! I didn't know that you were...uh... you know! Sorry!" Aika and Vyse both grinned sheepishly at each other.

"It's fine," Aika assured her. "Just knock more next time." Belle left without another sound, and she looked over at Vyse. "... Wow, that just killed the mood."

"Big time," Vyse agreed. "Let's just get up for the day. We'll have plenty of time for this later."

"Good idea." She rolled back into a sitting position on the edge of the comfortable bed. Trying to reach, she discovered the dresser with spare clothes for her was too far away. The redhead grumbled, standing unsteadily. "Ship's leaning a little bit," She noticed, her keen pirate instincts allowing her to judge the floor. "Don must be at the helm."

"Yeah, he's like a leaf on the wind," He remarked, satirizing the drunk's favorite reply whenever anyone questioned his sobriety/ability to fly/think. Vyse kept the closest dresser full of his own clothing, of course, and they were within reach of his groggy arm. He pulled out a light-blue tunic and some darker denim trousers for the day, along with his red scarf. Even with years of wearing sailors' vests, he still fumbled with the buttons for a minute. Aika went over to help him, already fully dressed in her usual one-piece yellow leather. "Is it a bad thing that you know my buttons better than I do? And how do you get dressed so quickly?"

"It's an acquired skill, and no, I consider it a very good thing. The hair, that'll take a while more." Even as she said that, she headed towards the offset bathroom and flicked on the lights. Carefully straightening the semi-tangled flows of orange hair, she used a few custom brushes and began to braid it up.

"Why do you bother with that? You look much better with it down," He said, slipping on his trusted pair of boots that he had worn for over a year. They still showed only basic signs of wear, holding up throughout his wild adventures in Arcadia.

Aika rolled her eyes. Vyse often asked that question, but she always left it a mystery. "Yeah, but I don't want people to get the wrong impression of me."

"But people think you're weird when you look like a scarecrow from Pirate Isle," He retorted, turning on the lights to the main room. Even with the time he had been awake, it took him a few blinks to adjust.

"That's the point." She stepped out, now looking fully ready to face the day. Her hair was in it's usual pattern of intricate and unique braids. She had even put back in the blue crystal earrings that completed her outfit. Vyse looked ready, as well, and he mock-bowed to her, motioning for her to go through first.

The redhead did so, pushing open the unlocked bulkhead. The metal slid aside soundlessly, revealing the top-level hallway of the dormitory section. To other side, other VIP doors were all shut, although some had signs saying '_do'nt disterb_'. Apparently, Marco was again trying to be helpful by transcribing signs for the crew. Ignoring the other rooms, they went to the staircase at the other side of the hallway and began to descend.

Having memorized the labyrinth of a ship that he commanded, Vyse headed straight for the medical wing, and the teenagers were soon at the glass double-doors. They could see Piastol checking Fina's pulse for a moment before she looked up and noticed them. She looked stoic and dutiful, as always. She opened the doors for them, and nodded to him. "Vyse. Aika."

"Good morning, Piastol," Aika said happily. "Hey, didn't Fina wake up? Why's she still asleep?"

"Huh?" The white-haired girl blinked. "Yes, Fina did awaken, but Doc grew concerned and put her under for a little longer with a sedative."

"What? Belle never mentioned that," Vyse said, frowning. Although she was a pretty skilled gunner and had the most positive attitude ever invented, the bouncy girl could be very forgetful. "Doc needs to get better messengers."

"You volunteering for the job?" The older man stepped out of his office with a short wave to the two visitors. "Nobody else wants to run across the ship, I need Piastol here to assist me, and Brabham told me that we'll need to stop at Crescent Isle before he can connect me to the intercom." He pointed to the lonely talking-tube on the other side of the medical beds.

"No, thanks, Doc," Aika stuck her tongue out at him. "So," She said, suddenly becoming more sober, "How's our Vice Captain doing?" It was a safe bet to assume he was not dead, as not even Belle would have forgotten such a traumatizing message.

"As well as can be expected," Doc sighed. "I've got him in ICU, over there." An ajar hatch led to four Intensive Care Wards, fully equipped with the most modern Valuan technology that the Empress could afford. "His heart's still beating, and he's still breathing. Logically, he should be showing other signs of life soon, but right now he's inert." He paused. "It's possible that the bullet he was shot with had Silver Magic in it."

"What?" That would do nothing but worsen David's condition. Vyse said, "But, Fina's magic should have stopped that, right?"

"Right. Which is why he's still alive," Doc nodded. "But it might have adversely affected him, all the same. I'm observing him now. You can go in, but Maria's in there right now with her Hamachou."

".. Nah." Vyse shook his head. "Let's give her some time. How about Fina? When can you let her out of bed?"

"I'm just taking a while to make sure she's alright. All she did was run out of energy, but Silvites are a very magical race. I'm not exactly sure if it's healthy to go around slinging such power. Next time she wakes up, I'll discharge her if she's still healthy."

"Ok." Vyse looked over at Aika. "C'mon, Aika. Let's get to the Mess Hall and grab something for breakfast, and then talk with Naomi about planning our next visit to Glacia." What happened to David made it abundantly clear that they needed their healer to continue safely, so they would be stalled until Fina was up and about again. "We have to get that damn Purple Crystal, before anyone else gets hurt."

The chefs, like yesterday, had prepared an insane quantity of different breakfast foods. Yafutoman and Nasrian dishes sat side-by-side with Valuan delicacies, perishables purchased at Sailors Island and specials from the ship's storage. Aika ate a bit, and Vyse ate a ton of every sort of food that was offered to him. He didn't even refuse the more odd Ixa'takan meals.

Enrique badly hid his disgust, while Naomi seemed more amused than anything. The Vice Captain had laid out a roll of Yafutoman paper on an empty space in the table between dishes. On it was a variety of oil-pencil lines and shading, signifying a rough draft of the area of the city they had surveyed. Nearly half of Glacia remained completely blank, as they had only trod through the western districts yesterday. The Tenkou leader had also marked points of interest with small red pins.

"Wow," Aika said. "That's some really great work, Naomi." The Yafutoman said nothing, not a woman to be swayed by flattery at the best of times.

"This building that your group passed is the largest we've seen so far," Naomi said. "We can deduce that it was something important, then. I propose we break into the sealed doors and carefully search the insides of this building, and a few others highlighted in green." She tapped her pencil against a few more large squares. "If nothing pans out we can continue on the foot-paths, but there could be more monsters out there."

"Let's go for it," Vyse confirmed. "After Fina wakes up and gets ready, we'll assemble again. This time we'll keep to a single group with everyone, and if you can't fight you aren't going with us." He pointed towards a small orange pin on one of the edges of the sketch. "What's that?"

"Oh, I think it was a bird at one time," Aika piped up, poking the last surviving Ixa'takan dish cautiously and with her gloved hand.

"_I_ think he means this," Enrique said, sighing. "That's where David got shot." After a moment, he continued, "And it's where we'll need to go if we continue further through the city walkways." The Valuan Prince looked ready to add something more, but instead he looked up in surprise. "Fina! You're already up?" The others looked over, to see the Silvite walking through the door on the upper level.

"Doc said I was free to go," She said quietly. "I checked on David, and then decided I was very, very hungry." Cupil, freed to his balloon form, twirled in a slow orbit around his owner. The crew looked over and offered their greetings to her _en masse_, making her blush and look away. She had gotten more outgoing, but the seemingly large crowd brought out her timid side. "H-hello everyone."

"Grab a plate and have a seat, Angel," Vyse offered, sitting one space over from Aika to let her get in between. The Silvite gathered mostly normal foods and took the spot offered, looking at both of her lovers. Aika, unable to resist, glomped her and almost made her fall backwards, laughing. Suddenly, she was no longer so shy, as only these three seemed to matter for a while.

Naomi had gotten used to it, standing up with her clean plates and taking them to the sink line. She bowed to Enrique, and said, "I'll prepare our gear for the expedition." With that, the taciturn officer was gone.

"We're going back?" Fina asked, after she had finished eating. Even as hungry as she was, she still ate in a very orderly and lady-like fashion. Aika found it very cute, but Vyse just thought it was a very inefficient way to eat.

"Of course," Aika replied. "We still need to search for the Purple Moon Crystal, remember? Anyway, take some time to relax, it'll probably be after noon when we shove off." She nodded subtly to Vyse, who smirked.

"In the mean time, we can give you your reward for doing what you did back there," He purred, leaning in very close as the redhead did the same on the other side. Fina only managed a small meep before she realized the two teenagers were now dragging her up the royal-carpeted staircase and right for the dormitory section.

Vyse had been right- there was plenty of time for it, too. However, to the disappointment of the more gossipy crew, it was later learned that they 'only' had a few furious sessions of making out punctuated by snuggling. Khazim was green with envy, but didn't get what Belle meant by it being 'cute'.

0-0

A single Secondary Cannon shell from the _Delphinus_' ammo batteries didn't seem like much against the colossal Gigas, or even a Valuan Gunboat. It was, however, impressive on a personal scale, and the man-sized shell took three people to safely carry. It resembled a scaled up bullet, with a thick cylindrical steel body tapering to a blunt head, which was where the actual explosives were clustered. They had taken it along as a makeshift breaching charge, knowing that the thick Old World marble alloy would need some serious firepower to burn through.

When it blew, everyone covered their ears from the titanic noise. Despite the fact that they had gotten to a safe distance, heat and vibrations still washed over their bodies. Vyse was the first to look up and inspect the damage, seeing a moderate dent on the sturdy doors. "Hey, at least it's progress," He said.

"Piastol, Enrique, let's grab the other shell," He said, walking over towards the _Askar_, that was floating on the edge of the veranda just a few feet away. The two of them helped him lift it up, but even so it was extremely heavy. Moving as quickly as the load allowed, he tossed the warhead roughly against the damaged doorway. "Okay, our money-shot. Get back again!"

The second blast almost had it- an enormous crater of molten rock and glass was where the door's width was before, and it must have been extremely thin, especially in the middle. Without a word, he walked up and kicked the door as hard as he could. The weakened, hot stone cracked into a spider-web pattern and began to collapse impressively, although he had to leap back to avoid falling chunks of debris.

As soon as the hole opened, a gust of air rushed out, so dusty it looked like mist. The murky air inside the pressurized stone structure had, apparently, not been disturbed in thousands of years. Even through the semi-mask of her upper coat, Piastol had to crinkle her nose at the dust. Fresh air rushed in to rapidly replace the dirty old oxygen, and in a few moments the dust settled on the frigid veranda.

"We're probably the first people to enter this building since the Purplites disappeared, so many years ago," Enrique said quietly, taking the first steps forward. He bent over slightly, managing to get through the destroyed bulkhead and into the dark quarters beyond. "Uh, I can't see anything, could you hand me a flashlight?"

Valuan flashlight technology made the conventional moonstone-lamps look like relics. The cylinders had a bulb in them, powered by batteries and electricity instead of the arcane power latent in lunar rock. They could shine brighter and for much longer than a lamp could. The team had brought along several of them, and passed one out to each person. With weapons ready, they all climbed into the large building. Fina was the last one in, and she looked around to see beams of light dissecting the darkness and shining on the vast walls of the first room.

The room looked like a lounge of some sort, with a similar configuration to the one at the Purple Airport they found yesterday. Receptionist counters were on the far side, near a set of closed double-doors, and many remains of chairs sat sprinkled across the dusty stone floor. Several foreign letters were painted on the light-blue walls in a deeper, oceanic blue. "Fina? Do you know how to read Purplite?" Aika asked, doubtful.

"Um... no," She admitted sheepishly. "I might be able to decipher a few characters, as all of the ancient languages were somewhat similar... but more than that is impossible." After staring at the writing on the wall for a while, she finally decided, "I think it's a welcome message." Either way, that information didn't seem particularly useful to them.

Luke had walked across the large lobby, and to the double-doors, trying to pry them open with a predictable result. "Sealed," He declared. "Or just really heavy." After a few more moments, he said, "Anyone got any ideas about how we get through this? We only had the two shells from the _Delphinus_..."

Rodgers walked over to the receptionist area, and hoisted herself up and over the polished counter. Landing, she looked around. "If we get power to the building's computers, the doors might open." Some more advanced countries already had computerized security systems, which made it easy to imagine the Old World with a fully-integrated network. "It's just a hunch."

"And how do we do that?" Piastol asked. "We aren't even sure what power sources the Purple Civilization wielded."

"I could make some raw electricity with an Electri spell," Enrique suggested quietly. "The charge would be weak, but I would be able to manually feed energy to the machines. There's a small chance that I might mess up and blow out a circuit or something, Vyse, especially if these computers use alternating currents or anything like that." Even as he explained the risk, he was walking towards the screens. "If we wreck these computers, we'll loose any option but to blindly blast through. It's up to you, Captain."

Vyse took a few second to think it over, and then nodded. "Alright, Enrique, go for it. Who knows, this might actually work." Most of the flashlight beams were now on the royal prince as he walked over to the counter. Rodgers helped him up and over, and searched with him for the hidden components of the computers. Enrique found a large metal box in an alcove of the desk, concealed in total darkness until his flashlight scanned over it. Red and green wires ran through it and up into small holes in the counter.

"So, Enrique, how much experience do you actually have with computers?" Rodgers figured that as the prince of the world's technological capital, he would be very adept at computer operation. However, once she considered that this unit was so far beyond what they could dream of that it was vaguely frightening, he was probably going to take a wild guess.

"Well, I know about them, obviously," He said, "But I've never manually jump-started a computer system with magic. Erm, unless we brought along a generator, though, this appears to be our only option for doing it." He put his gloved hands on what appeared to be the power outlet for the CPU tower.

"It probably just needs a spark to start it off," Fina advised. "Purplite technology is made of a living crystal matter that regenerates with electrical stimulation. Once you start the process the network should quickly restore itself to full power." The Silvite leaned over the counter, watching them curiously.

Yellow light appeared in the gloom, surrounding Enrique as the air crackled. Electri generated several tiny electrical pulses that he put directly into the wiring, one after the other, and finally reaching through the thick insulation. Magically-generated power flowed through for several moments, reviving centuries-old technology.

Suddenly, the CPU sputtered and whirred to life. He leapt back in surprise. Working as efficiently as they day they were designed, the computers all booted up, and the computer screens blasted light out into the dark void of the room.

The lights switched on, flooding the formerly dark room with soft blue light. The light scaled up, which allowed them to adjust quickly and get a better look at their surroundings. The Blue Rogues clicked off their flashlights to conserve battery life. Rodgers regarded one of the computer screens, which displayed rapidly-scrolling lines of text in the indecipherable Purplite script. "I wish I could tell what all of this read-out means." By random guessing, she pressed a part of the screen, which glowed red.

When the empty room began to talk at them in a booming voice, the pirates were understandably shocked. They looked around for the source, seeing nobody but themselves in the very large lobby room. Fina strained to understand the language, but made no headway. The room continued to speak until Vyse finally asked her, "Fina! Are you getting any of this?"

Instantly, the speaking stopped. A moment later, a few beeps sounded and the voice began speaking in an utterly different dialect. Fina squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on her considerable knowledge for any hint or clue. "This is... an archaic form of Yelite! The computer must be trying to talk with us, and heard you speaking Valuan."

"The computer is talking? To us?" Luke blinked.

"The Gigas weren't their only accomplishments," Fina remarked. "All of the Old World nations were incredibly intelligent... Purple in particular were known for their development of Artificial Intelligence."

"AI... the concept of a machine that could think and learn like a human mind," Enrique said, listening to the speech change tenor this time. "Royal scientists said that such a thing was at least a hundred years off for the Empire. The technology involved... well, just more proof that the Old World was amazing."

"They killed each other so well, but they couldn't stop some falling rocks," Aika replied, skeptical. "The computer keeps shifting voices. Why the hell is it doing that?"

"_-Doing that_?" The room parroted in a distorted mockery of her feminine voice. "_Why the hell is it doing that?_ Voice samples analyzing... attempting to readjust dialect. Beginning message over- Greetings, visitors to Glacia! I am the Guardian, sentry and programmer of security forces in Glacia. If you wish to access the restricted areas of this building, you will need to answer a few questions first." It seemed blithely unaware of how old it was, or that all of its people were long dead. It didn't even seem to notice how unnerved all of the 'visitors' were.

Nobody dared to reply for several tense moments. "... Questions?" Vyse echoed in total confusion.

"To verify that you are an ally of the Purple Civilization, worthy to access the Gigas Facility," The Guardian said. "Of course... you knew this was the Gigas Facility, correct?"

"... Right," He agreed, totally off-balance. _Holy shit! The room is talking, we found the Gigas..._ An idea suddenly struck him._Wait... if the Gigas is here, the Purple Crystal must also be around!_ "What will happen if I don't give the right answer?" He asked, trying not to show any fear, without realizing the computer probably didn't care how he felt.

"You and your companions will be added to security eliminate-on-sight lists," The computer replied in the same cheerful and welcoming tone it had used before. "On to the questions. First question- Deep within the Purple Moonstone lies the power to hold the world still... what is this power?"

He nearly let out a sigh of relief, even as the eyes of all his crew and friends were on him. This question seemed obvious to him. "The power of ice," He said, determination growing.

The computer gave no direct reply, but the doors to the side of the counter slid open. "You may proceed," It said. "Please watch your step- anti-freeze units in the tunnel appear to have suffered partial failure, and the path might be slippery."

"Thanks for the warning," Vyse replied dryly. "Everyone, let's go. Luke, stay up here with the ship. If something happens, beat it." Luke and Rodgers shared a gaze, before she turned to follow the others. They went through a short hallway, and suddenly found themselves looking down a tunnel of smooth ice and wound and turned out of sight. "... Well, that computer wasn't kidding! Ugh... I'll go first." He sat down and pushed off, riding down the darkened tunnel. After a few moments, his swashbuckling urges took over and he let out a long whoop as the wind pushed against his face. His landing was less pleasant, but thanks to a slide on the bottom ice it wasn't painful.

Enrique landed on him a moment later, followed by Piastol and Aika in quick succession. He struggled with them even as they tried to stand up, brushing themselves off. Rodgers came next, landing on her feet in front of everyone silently. Fina was last, and was easily found by her increasing scream as she fell.

Cupil expanded into a long, flat balloon-thing that caught her before she 'landed', further buffering the ride for the gentle healer. Vyse and Aika helped her up, and Vyse patted her on the back. "You alright?" He asked her. Fina nodded quietly.

After an empty hallway and a set of doors that opened obligingly at the touch, they found themselves in another chamber. It was very small, but five doors were there- one directly across and two to either side. Fina brought up the rear, the door slamming shut behind her abruptly.

"Visitor... the second question will determine your path." The Guardian said. "The Purple Crest hides a certain number. What is that number?"

Vyse winced. He didn't know what the computer was talking about. A look around him assured the teenager that the others were also clueless. Well... gotta do something. He decided to go with his favorite number, his lucky number. "... Two?"

The center door slid open. "You may continue," The Guardian said. "One more question, and then you'll be able to enter the Elevator system."

The group traversed down another long icy tunnel, and found themselves at the final question chamber. "What are the traits of a man most admired by the Purple Civilization?" The Guardian demanded.

"..." Vyse pondered. _What would a people of ice like? Power? Life?_ "... Will and spirit."

After a moment to process the results... "You have passed the trial," The Guardian said. "The elevator is just ahead. It will take you directly to the Gigas Hangar... thank you for your time." With that, the wall opened up, revealing a large elevator shaft with a car waiting. Vyse grinned and stepped forward. _Finally... I hope this time I won't have to fight it_.


	3. Plergoth

Chapter Three- Plergoth

The elevator itself was simply a flat platform, resting on gears to either side and the sturdy fiber-optic rope up the middle. No controls were visible, so everyone simply stepped on. As soon as the Guardian sensed they were all aboard, he sent the lift downwards. The gears turned and ground, performing effortlessly even with so many years of disrepair. It was a smooth and quick ride, even though the elevator shaft was very long and they passed at least thirty sets of gears, or levels.

"Now arriving at Level Zero- Gigas Hangar. Unit currently in dock and still active," The artificial voice echoed through the tunnel. Vyse felt himself tense up slightly. If the Gigas was awake, then there was no way they could think about taking it out on foot.

He pulled out his radio. "I'm going to get Lawrence ready- we might need the _Delphinus_ if our host gets angry. Lawrence, this is Vyse, come in. Lawrence, do you copy?" After a few moments of static, he sighed. If the mercenary wasn't replying, then that meant... "The Guardian is jamming our radio frequency!"

"Additional clearance required for short-band communications within restricted areas," The Guardian said. "Answer- what is the prayer to our Moon that Purple warriors use for victory? Must be correct and formatted in the proper language, with dance steps."

"... Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me," Luke cursed. "I'm going to assume that none of us knows the Purple Civilization prayer-book... so now what?"

"I guess we'll have to do without air support," Vyse sighed, putting the black machine back on his belt. "And pray to _all_ the Moons that the Gigas doesn't pulp us. Come on..." They stepped off the platform, and into a large and empty chamber with a raised central platform. On the other side was yet another double-door, this time almost ten meters tall. "That must be the last door."

Veltarn had been activated as power returned to the building, just like the Guardian had. The ancient fusion mech-monster was one of the main obstacles placed by its masters to prevent enemies tampering with the Gigas Facility. It was the most fearsome of the combat units, and so placed in the chamber right outside the entrance to Level Zero.

Cloaked in its stealth field, it observed the new visitors. The Guardian told Veltarn about the new arrivals, and how they had clearance, but the semi-sapient monster was very suspicious. Deciding to assume the risk, it de-cloaked in order to divert more power to its aged scanners. Beams of yellow light scanned up and down the forms of the Blue Rogues even as they turned in surprise to face the machine.

Vyse blinked. The creature put him in the mind of a purple ceramic pot with wings and an angular, feathery 'head' atop. The head contained a perfectly-polished crystal that tracked just like a human eye would, scanning all of them. Its body was covered in ancient markings and a gold band ran the circumference, glowing ominously. The guardian monster did not appear to be held up by anything but the slight flapping of it's larger set of wings.

"Woah! Hold it," Rodgers said. "Don't make any more aggressive moves, guys. We might be able to convince it we're friendly, like we did the Guardian."

It had reached the female visitor garbed in white before Veltarn knew there was a problem. She was obviously Silvite, even though the genetic code was like nothing in its computer memory. Any member of another Civilization in such an area was, of course, a breach of protocol and unacceptable. Why the Guardian didn't pick up on it, Veltarn didn't waste CPU cycles to wonder.

There was only one answer to this. Gathering energy in its dusty main port, it quickly shunted out a beam of cohesive laser energy- a pulse strong enough to vaporize the threat. Vyse shoved Fina away, only barely getting to the ground himself to avoid the lance of burning red light that flashed for a single moment. In its wake, the Death Laser left an enormous smoldering crater in the ancient marble wall behind them.

"It's safe to assume that this thing isn't friendly anymore," Enrique gasped, as the large thing laboriously turned to face him. The hint of Yelite DNA left in the Valuan after a hundred generations was enough to designate him as the secondary target. The Prince was quick to catch this fact, and threw up a Justice Shield moments before the Death Laser fired again. "May Righteousness Be My Shield! Shield of Justice!"

Red light met yellow, in a cacophony of noise and sparks that danced through the frigid air. Even defended as he was, the teenager was tossed against the far wall from sheer force. He recovered himself, drawing his Yafutoman katana which glowed yellow with enchantment. Using his blade as a conductor, he generated a counter-attack and sent a lightning bolt towards the creature. If it was as mechanical as it looked, then it should have been at least partially vulnerable towards Yellow Magic assaults.

Veltarn was hit by the electricity, which danced across its armored surface and flowed into every nook and cranny. Aika took the opportunity to send her boomerang sailing into it, but even with a flame enchantment it merely deflected off the sturdy metal. It shuddered a few times, but then fired another Death Laser with speed that forced Enrique to dodge instead of generating another shield. Before it could follow up, its scanners detected Luke and Vyse both running straight for it with swords ready to hack away.

Lifting itself up further, it waited until the swordsmen skidded to a halt before unleashing a torrent of cold energy that instantly crystalized the air into magical ice. Both teenage pirates were flash-frozen, immobile and trapped. "No!" Fina screamed in shock, watching both of them in horror. Having drawn its attention again, she shakily got to her feet and ran away to avoid the next Laser blast. The force of the impact shook the ground slightly. Rodgers considered running in, but saw the fate of the other melee attackers and held her ground.

Piastol had been slowly accumulating Silver energy, with the help of her deadly scythe, while the others diverted the cyborg creature. Now, her entire body flowed with the death section of the life-and-death domain power. A veil of light appeared around her thin, lean form, and a pair of magical wings sprouted from her back as her eyes turned totally white. "NO FURTHER! WRATH OF THE ANGEL!" Regardless of distance or height, she charged directly at Veltarn, her wings allowing her to literally take flight.

The slice was so accurate and powerful that it split the Purple Civilization sentinel cleanly in two. Overloading, the creature's separate halves began to explode as the organic parts died away. They fell to the ground in flaming heaps of scrap and slag, moments before Piastol returned gracefully to her feet. The wings receded into the air and the aura of death left her, and she blinked, returning to normal at the sight of Fina and Aika casting Curia on their friends.

Enrique felt a little afraid of the powerful woman, but smiled still. "Amazing show, Piastol. You destroyed that thing in a single blow. I'm glad you're playing for our team now."

"I'm not playing," She assured him. "And I've simply had enough with Glacia trying to kill my friends. It won't get any of you, I swear it on my life." The Prince better understood, then, that her wrath was no longer a thing to be afraid of.

"I _hate_ this city," Vyse whined even as marginal heat returned to his body and he drew in a deep breath, flexing his freed limbs. Luke did the same thing, reveling in his freedom for a moment before they both got their bearings. "Thanks for the save, guys. Sorry that bastard got the drop on us."

Luke winced. "One of these days, I'm going to be helpful, Vyse. That's my mission to fulfill before the end of our quest."

"You'd better get a move on, then," Rodgers grinned. "We've only got two more Crystals before the world is out of danger, and we're about to get the first one. Hey, maybe you can help against Plergoth if it attacks?"

"Psh. I'll let Piastol handle that one," The red-coated teenager looked at the former ruthless killer. He expected her usual emotionless stare, but was surprise to see her crack the slightest smirk before turning away. "I'll put out a bounty on it."

"One problem, you don't have any money for that," Aika giggled. "You ok, Vyse?"

"Wonderful," He replied, standing up. "I'll let him borrow the gold from the ship's hold, Aika. Better Piastol than us take that thing on. Speaking of which, is everyone ready? I think that door's the last one until we get to the Purple Crystal." He holstered his dual cutlasses, knowing that either way, his weapons would be useless. The Captain joined his crew in gathering around the shut double-doors.

The stone easily yielded to his push, and both sides of the door swung open, revealing the breathtaking scope of the chamber. A thick and ominous mist shrouded everything beyond a few feet from their vision, adding to the tension. The walls were all carved with mural-like drawings that no doubt had great significance in the distant past. Just within sight, black smoke swirled up noticeably through the fog and a beacon of red indicated a fire.

_Maybe that's where our newest Zivilyn Bane was camping out_, Vyse thought to himself, although he shot down his own explanation quickly. _Nah... we only got the lift to work just now, and the guardian was still in place at the entrance. That means there's someone else down here... with the Gigas_.

_Wait... if they didn't come in the front door, than that means they must have..._ A slight wind was hitting against the very thick layers of coats that Vyse had on, confirming his suspicion. _Come into the hangar via flight. But the Gigas is here, too, so... Oh, no_. "Everyone," He said, "Be careful. Let's get closer to the middle of the room and check things out."

Aika came up beside Vyse, and said quietly to him, "Vyse, I think that whoever's here is-"

"Yeah," The teenager sighed, nodding subtly. The entire group had begun slowly advancing, leaving the doorway behind and going further towards the middle of the hangar. They spotted the fire, and by it's light was revealed a bulky human profile. Vyse's hand found the grips of his swords, and he slowly began to draw them.

They got closer to the mysterious person, trying to be as quiet as possible about it. However, the floor's elevation changed a step down suddenly. Most of the pirates handled it smoothly, but Enrique stumbled and let out a surprised yelp as he flailed to regain his balance, and was caught by Luke. "Smooth," The teenager said sarcastically as the person near the fire turned around suddenly.

"Who's there?" A gruff and weathered voice demanded, echoing in the huge space of the chamber. "I see ya all, so stop trying to hide." The man was definitely large, although some of that was no doubt his dark-green coat, which gained definition through the mist. One of his arms held a weakly flailing skyfish, and the other a small harpoon at the ready.

If Drachma were to expect any other human being to reach the Moons-forsaken frozen city of Glacia, he honestly wasn't too surprised that these kids had. That said, he had figured that nobody would ever reach the Ruins of Ice besides him. He recognized the impossible-to-mistake scarecrow hair of Aika, and barely restrained a chuckle at their surprise. Relief replaced the great sorrow and morning he had been going through. Vyse just stared for a while, as did Fina, but Aika was quicker to react, running for him. "Drachma!" She said, leaping up and glomping him. "It's really you!"

"I can't believe my own eyes," Vyse shook his head. "Captain Drachma... I'm so glad to see that you're still alive... This is... miraculous!"

"Captain," Fina said, smiling. "It's been a long time... we thought that you had been lost that night over Valua..." Piastol, Luke, Rodgers, and Enrique were now about as started as the others. Vyse had told them all stories about Drachma, but to meet the man himself was a totally different story.

"Aye, it has been a while," Drachma acknowledged. "You kids... well, I thought I wouldn't ever see ya again, either. Then again, somehow... I felt that you'd made it. And that you'd be comin' for the Crystal." Aika detached herself silently as he turned around. "Follow me..." With that, the old man set off towards the other side of the enormous hangar, past his own crackling campfire.

The Blue Rogues all obeyed, walking behind him. Piastol, with her excellent sight abilities, spotted the enormous creature first. "Vyse," She gasped. "Up ahead! Look, it's massive!" The mammoth of a shadowed figure sitting before them was completely immobile, and easily four times the size of the _Delphinus_ itself. It could only be the Purple Gigas, the creature they were looking for. His thoughts mostly incoherent, he walked faster to catch up with Drachma. "What is the meaning of this?"

"That's Rhaknam, boy," Drachma said, indicating to the creature. As they got closer, they were able to clearly distinguish that it was, in fact, the gigantic Arcwale that Drachma had been hunting for half of his life. "I figure he's the Purple Gigas, but he lost his master... been wandering the world ever since. For hundreds of years."

"By the Moons," Luke swore, staring directly at the hazy eye of Rhaknam. The whale stared back, and then turned to look at all of the new humans, letting out a huge rumbling bellow.

"It's alright, Rhaknam," The fisherman said. "... Ramirez's cannons didn't just tear up the _Little Jack_. They did a number on him... it's a great wound, I think he's dyin'." Were it not for the Gigas' preternatural powers, he was sure that the whale would have long since succumbed to his injuries. "My Harpoon Cannon... he used it to tow the ship along, and he pulled me away and to safety. The _Little Jack_'s engines had failed, but Rhaknam had enough power for us both. He brought me to his last 'home'... to this Hangar."

"You've been here this whole time?" Aika blinked. "All by yourself, with Rhaknam?"

"Aye. I figured... I've spent the better part of my entire life hunting for him. I wanted to watch over him in his last time on Arcadia, the least I could do... I had a reserve of Red Moon Stones and some sturdy jackets, and some skyfish got in the open hangar doors... and I've been able to survive down here with him."

Hearing the story put all of the younger people into silence, looking either at Drachma or Rhaknam. The thick air now seemed to be full of more sadness than mist, or perhaps the mist was a manifestation of those feelings in them all.

"Poor Rhaknam... the Purple Civilization excelled at making technology to mimic nature... and reverse-engineering nature into technology." Fina looked away. "At some point, he was probably just a normal Arcwale."

"Aye," Drachma nodded. "His presence brought disaster to so many people... like me. But... I don't think he's evil, no. He saved my life, after I spent most of it tryin' to kill him."

"Sir..." Vyse trailed off.

Enrique noticed something, looking near the top of the critically wounded mammoth whale. "That light... Vyse! Look!" Let into Plergoth's flexible and hardy outer layer of skin-armor was a circular gold holder, from which vast amounts of bright purple light bloomed. Held within was a relatively tiny crystal. "The Purple Moon Crystal. There's no doubt now..."

"You all should just take the Crystal and get movin'," Drachma said quietly, going back to his campfire, which had a few small skyfish cooking. "You don't need to stay down here with me and him... we've both had long, long lives, and you've got adventures still ahead of yours."

"Don't say that," Aika objected, following him. "We're your friends, right? We want to stay down here and help you tend to Rhaknam. Right?" Everyone nodded quickly in confirmation.

"... Have a seat," Drachma said vacantly. "Boy, you'd better fill me in on what's been goin' out in the outside world. I've been cut off, obviously."

Vyse told him of all they had accomplished; discovering the world was round, recovering the Blue Crystal and freeing Yafutoma and Nasr from the clutches of the Valuans, and so on. The old fisherman was interested in the tale, but rarely spoke at all and seemed justifiably distracted.

The teenager had about wrapped up when another rumbling bass cry from Rhaknam nearly shook the floor. The Arcwale made the noise again, and again, and each time it sounded more mournful. Drachma stood up and went to him, putting a weathered hand on his purple mechanical shell. "There, there, Rhaknam," He said. "It's alright... I'm here for ya." Piastol grabbed one of the fish, beginning to eat it as she intentionally looked away. The hurt creature brought up bad memories from her own past.

Plergoth's eye that watched them had begun to well up in tears, and trace rivulets down his enormous bulk. Somehow, Drachma knew what the whale did, and his own eyes felt watery as well. "I see... it's time for you to go... time for you to finally join your friends... goodbye, Rhaknam..."

The agonized creature that had once been just an innocent whale reflected on its existence. He should be overjoyed that the end was finally at hand... but somehow all that was left was the sorrow. He would miss this man, whose name he never knew, but whose kindness reached into his warped mechanical mind. The last remaining strength in the behemoth was draining quickly... he couldn't even keep his eyes open anymore. Darkness closed in, and Rhaknam peacefully slid into darkness.

All of the other pirates averted their gaze now, and so only discovered the Purple Crystal was dislodged as it clanked to the dank and cold stone ground. The ultimate power source, no longer held in by the whale, was undamaged by the fall, its facets still faultless. Nobody went to retrieve it for a while, and finally Luke did, staring at it for a long time before handing it off to Fina.

"I'm sorry, Captain..." The Silvite said to him. Drachma didn't reply.

0-0

With Brabham, Hans, Izmael and Kirala on the job, the crew quickly finished repairs to the _Little Jack_. Glacia's automated security systems gave them little trouble as they brought the _Delphinus_ around and into the huge Gigas hangar itself. After getting healed for minor frostbite, Drachma withdrew into his cabin even as the ship around it was being rebuilt, becoming a recluse and rarely emerging. Two days after they found him, the whaling vessel was declared sky-worthy by Brabham. "You'll wanna get her to a proper dock for a full refit, mind you," He had added helpfully. "We did all we could, but the _Delphinus_' supply is nothing compared with Sailors' Island."

As soon as his ship had arrived, he had gladly boarded it. Once aboard, his friends shed their heavy coats and thick protective gear, bathed in merciful warmth. Doc was waiting for them in the Hangar. "David's awake," He announced. "Just regained consciousness a few minutes ago. I was gonna dope him, but I figured you might like a chat first."

This announcement lifted everyone's spirits, and the group all agreed to head straight down to the Medical Bay. The facility looked fairly busy, with several patients sitting in the regular medical beds- down with colds and the like. Maria was dutifully attending to them, and Belle was helping out, albeit clumsily. Pow sat on small mat, sick alongside his human masters.

"Hey, Vyse," Khazim thundered in between spasms of coughing. "I heard you guys found the fourth Crystal. Nice going, _amigo_!" The pirate captain felt better at the semi-toothed grin from the Nasrian artillery man. "We've almost got em all."

Doc pushed the door to David's ICU suite open, and went in first. The air inside smelled more recycled and sanitized than that of the normal Medical Bay, and the rhythmic beeping of heart monitors added to the atmosphere. David laid in a large while bed, covered with a thin sheet and otherwise mostly naked, aside from bandages around his chest. The dressings glowed visibly with the heavy Green Magic enchantment. His long, shaggy hair covered his eyes, but his expression changed as he spotted everyone entering, revealing that he was awake.

Naomi was sitting in one of the chairs near the bed, and was in the middle of saying something, when she looked up and hastily stopped talking. Her face was slightly red, but she nodded professionally to Vyse. The others didn't detect it, either, too busy focusing on the patient beside her.

"Visitors," Doc said. "Dave, you picked a great time to wake up. Everyone just got back from Glacia again."

"Hey," Aika said, walking over and taking hold of one of his hands, squeezing gently. The Vyse Captain tightened his grip slightly in response, smiling. "How you feeling, David? You certainly look better."

"Feel like I might live," He said groggily. "Don't count on it just yet, though." He turned his head to look over at Vyse, who approached the bed as well. "We get the Purple Moon Crystal yet? And how long I been out?"

"A long time," Vyse chuckled. "Long enough for us to complete our mission. We found Drachma down there, with the Crystal..." He summarized the recent events, the same way he had done for his former Captain, except from a different perspective. "... So that's how we're doing. When Cap'n Drachma leaves, we'll take off too and head back to Crescent Island."

"Sounds like a plan," David nodded. "Give Drachma my regards, in case I'm not on my feet by then." Doc had told him that it would take months before he would be even half as strong as usual. Luckily, he wouldn't be going on any more field missions, and so could probably return to the Bridge within a single month of recovery. He paused. "You know, I'm a lucky bastard."

"Yeah, you are," Luke agreed with him.

"Lucky I got all of you at my back," The Vice Captain finished. "Otherwise I'd be chow. Fina, don't think I don't know how you saved my life- a birdie told me all about it. I owe you, at the least."

Fina colored well and looked away. "Please, it wasn't that big of a deal," She said. Cupil, meanwhile, had floated over and nestled in David's hair affectionately. "I know you would do the same for me if, Moons forbid, something happens."

David chuckled. "As expected. Hey, are you guys hungry? I'm famished, must have something to do with the day and a half of not having eaten."

Vyse said, "That sounds like a plan, too. Someone contact the Mess Hall." Now that he was home, he was determined to enjoy some comfort. After all, he couldn't see any reason to ever return to the frigid echo of a city that was Glacia, now that they had obtained the Crystal. "Even with all that's happened... we have a lot to celebrate. Our mission is almost over, only the Yellow Crystal is left, David's going to make it, and we found Drachma. Hopefully we can rope him into attending and lift his spirits a little..."

"We'd have better luck trying to steal his spare arm," Aika said flatly.

A lot of the crew flooded into the mess hall and had a 'picnic', to show solidarity for David. Doc complained about the patient needing more rest, but admitted that it was better to cheer him up. For some reason, the food tasted different, and led Don to make a crack about food poisoning that made Polly seriously consider that option for a few moments.

Drachma declined their many invitations to join them aboard the _Delphinus_, refusing to leave his own craft. He was still just thinking, about a lot of different things. Most of all, he thought of his little boy. _Jack.._.

By the time they had repaired the ship, all of the crew was getting restless and tired of the cold and dead Glacia. The pirates were ready to head back to the island that they now considered to be their home. According to the clock on the Bridge, it was after noon when the _Delphinus_' turbines began to spin again, the reactor roaring and pouring out enough power to run the massive engine systems. The battleship slowly lifted itself off of the ground, sliding through the misty air with grace, for Lawrence was at the helm.

David was there, seated in the mostly-unused Captains' Chair on the dais in the back of the command deck. Doc had been against it, but the Vice Captain had struggled and made it up to be with them as they took off. He was mostly silent, however, and occasionally drifted off into fitful sleep. His heart was still badly injured, and any activity at all caused him deep fatigue and stress.

Vyse leaned over to the radio console. "Right, so we'll escort the _Little Jack_ up to regular altitude, and then come alongside," He confirmed into the device. Drachma had said that he wanted to talk, but needed to prepare himself. Vyse was fully ready to give the old fishermen all the time that he needed. "_Delphinus_ out. Ok, Lawrence, let's go."

"Goodbye, Ruins of Ice," Don said, at the large view-screens with his arms crossed and only holding a small bottle.

"Good riddance," David added after a moment.

The airship flew out of the still-open massive entrance to the Gigas Hanger, into the shrouded sub-surface sky. The ship was very unresponsive due to the air pressure, but the mercenary was able to bring them up once they cleared the jagged ice shelfs above them, and they emerged safely. Schools of arctic fish swam around them, and behind, the smaller green whaling ship was keeping pace as best as it could, fins flapping against the frozen air.

As promised, they came to a stop once they were hovering above the coast of the Lands of Ice, and waited for the _Little Jack_. Presently it came along the side, Drachma's steady hand piloting the familiar ship perfectly. Vyse, Aika, and Fina threw on their coats quickly and headed out onto the otherwise deserted main deck.

Drachma was there out on the deck of his own craft, waiting for them. He didn't say anything, and his good eye spoke of a sadness that he rarely let them see. In one hand, he held a familiar, small wooden box. Vyse recognized it after a moment. _It's the box that Drachma showed me... the last night we sailed together._ It seemed like a lifetime ago, but in reality it had only been a matter of months. _The feathers... Jack's feathers._

He gazed at it for a long time, and then opened it with one of his grizzled hands. The little metal hinges creaked slightly, having gone so many years without the maintenance of his enthusiastic son. The feathers inside were all still vibrant in their colors, and seeing them reminded him once again of the final time he had seen Little Jack.

Slowly tilting it, he exposed it to the harsh weathering currents of air, which quickly caught through the box. The feathers were easily swept up in rapid succession, flying up and twirling innocently. Drachma just gazed at them as they went, waiting until the entire box was empty. _This box... is just like my life. Full of memories. My only purpose is now gone, and now my life is empty, just like this old box._ He tossed it downwards. It tumbled into the lower cloud layers, and Deep Sky.

Fina spoke up first. "Captain... are you going to leave us again?" She asked, sounding almost like a child. Cupil had folded up into a bracelet under her sleeve, reclusive as a result of the negative emotions feeding through their mental link.

"... Chasin' Rhaknam was my whole reason for livin'," Drachma replied. "So now, I've got to start all over. For someone my age, it ain't so easy just to change yer ways. I'm sorry... but I cannot go with you." It was the most he had said since they found him.

Aika leaned closer to Vyse. "Vyse," She said. "How can we just let him leave like this?"

"I can't imagine what he must be going through right now," Vyse said, just as quiet. "We've got no right to stop him... we should just let him go." He smiled sadly, and looked over at Drachma. "Captain... we just met again, but I guess this is good-bye."

"Boy," Drachma said. "... Hrmph. You've become quite a sailor. 'M proud of ya."

Vyse seemed prouder now, and chuckled. "It's really strange to hear a compliment from you. Captain... before you go, there's something I want to tell you. I know that you think that you and Rhaknam were alone. But that's not true." He pointed his thumb towards himself. "We've all been with you, the whole time. No matter how far apart we get, we're all still just sailing the same sky.

The same sky... the same clouds, the same wind. We'll always be together in some way or another, and we'll never forget you!" Drachma seemed slightly taken aback, but did not immediately reply.

The Silvite bowed to him. "Captain Drachma... please take care of yourself, wherever you go now. I wish you all the luck in the world."

"Hey, Cap'n, even if you go now, you'd better visit us on Crescent Isle!" Aika waved to him, grinning fully now.

"... Heh. Maybe I will, someday. Until then... goodbye." Drachma paused for a moment, and then turned and walked back inside of his ship, going to the bridge of the _Little Jack_. The teenagers watched as his ship pulled away, flying off to the north and picking up speed, until it was just a speck on the cloudy horizon.

When they got back inside, Lawrence was the first to speak. "Set course back to Crescent Island?"

"Yeah," Vyse confirmed. "Let's get going." The _Delphinus_ responded easily to their pilot's commands, turning on a new heading away from the frigid landmass below, and moving out. They had begun their journey home, and only had one Moon Crystal left to find.

_The Yellow Crystal..._ _Compared to this_, David reflected, _Valua is going to be a piece of cake._


	4. Vyse The Fallen Pirate

Chapter Four- Vyse The Fallen Pirate

Life went on for the people of civilized Arcadia, as Vyse and his crew adventured in lands far removed. Despite having been rebuked multiple times, the ambitions of Valuan Empire continued with a new vigor. The people of the other continents, following Nasr's example, were going to war to protect themselves. Nasr itself was still locked in conflict, desperately fighting for their freedom against the new Valuan offensive.

Admiral Karzhai had been appointed temporary Lord Protector of Nasr, to lead the forces of the desert nation, by what remained of the former kingdom's government. He worked overtime, orchestrating the revival of Nasrad, and the upkeep and command of the numerous military units. Fortunately, nationalist sentiments were at record levels all across the country, and so his people were more than willing to serve under him and follow his example.

The fire of those under the Red Moon was a dangerous force, but sometimes it seemed like they were using that fire against immovable stone. Several blockade fleets prevented large sections of the country from importing goods, and tightened the movement of Nasr forces. Nasrian troops repelled any attempts at an invasion of the mainland itself, but the attrition was taking a huge toll on them. The war had only lasted for two months, but there were already thousands of casualties straining a weak supply chain.

Currently, the largest battle was over the entrance to the South Dannel Straight, and Nasr's lifeblood in trade. A large portion of both fleets were constantly dueling over it, and the capital city could always see the distant flashes of cannon. Convoys desperately sprinted in and out of the narrow kill-zone, and many brave merchants were lost running vital supplies to the city.

Two weeks after conflict over the straight reached an allegro pitch, the tides of battle had favored the Valuans so heavily that they felt confident enough to push inwards, straight for the city itself. The fleets of technologically advanced battleships had slowly worn down the defending forces, and only a few handfuls of Nasrian craft remained to block direct access to Nasrad.

Karzhai himself had boarded his new flagship, the _Autonomía_, directing the retreat of his forces. The defending fleet, having completely given up the straight, pulled back over Nasrad. The powerful guns of the city defenses would aid them in repelling the Valuans should they choose to begin a direct assault, but the Lord Protector seriously doubted that. _They're just going to keep us bottled in and starve us out into surrender... it might work_. _With almost all of the Blue Rogues off of our screens, now, we won't have private assistance... and the merchants will only take so much hazard, no matter the pay_.

He barely had a chance to begin contemplating the situation when new waves of thunder rolled onto the bridge. The sounds were distant, but unmistakable, and escalating. Observers topside of the flagship reported seeing battle, and at least two ships were sunk in quick succession, although at such distance they couldn't confirm a nationality. A third airship simply exploded, chunks of burning metal falling into the clouds like rain.

"Sir... the Valuans... they're retreating! All of them, their entire fleet is turning on a bearing back to Valuan airspace... the enemy is bolting." The watchman up top sounded like even he didn't believe his own report. "What could do this?"

"We're about to find out," Karzhai replied shortly. "I have a feeling our new allies will be making an introduction soon. Lookout, do you see anything else from the South Dannel passage?"

"No, sir, nothing... wait, a ship is appearing around the corner, and heading in through the straight. Just a single ship. It looks Valuan, but not one of the standard models... _Luna Roja_! Admiral, it's the _Delphinus_! I recognize that profile now..." This announcement caused an even greater stir amongst the bridge officers, who now talked excitedly. "But... that's-"

"Yes, I know," Karzhai replied grimly. "Vyse the Fallen Pirate. We thought he was at the Lands of Ice... until recently. All units, stand ready. If they're looking for trouble, we'll be sure to give them all the trouble they can stand. Tell the city defenses to stand by as well-"

"- Sir, they're not preparing to _fight_ us," An officer on the deck reported. "They're _hailing_ us on the radio. The person claims to be Captain Vyse himself."

The voice was achingly familiar. "Delphinus_ to the Nasrians. Hey, this is Vyse. What's going on? We just got back from our quest, but your ships are avoiding us almost as much as the Valuans are_!" Karzhai's mind raced. A large part of him felt some relief. _Maybe he'll have an explanation..._

_For the last three weeks_. The Lord Protector's eyes narrowed further as he stared out the viewport at the approaching ship, but his stomach was uneasy about the whole affair. "... Put me through to him, then. Let's have a chat." He went over the communications post on the bridge and grabbed the radio transceiver. "This is Lord Protector Karzhai. Cease your approach from the city or we will be forced to open fire. We're fully prepared to resist you, Vyse, unlike your last victims."

"_... Huh?_" The teenager reacted in a reasonable fashion- complete confusion. "_W-what? Victims? What the hell are you talking about, Karzhai?! Have you lost it?_"

Karzhai's partially artificial rage was convincing enough. "Don't even try that, Vyse! The only thing I, and all the children of Nasr, have _lost_ is our faith in you. Halt your approach, this is your _final_ warning before the might of the Nasrian armed forces descends upon you!"

There was a long pause. "_... Alright, alright,_" He relented. "_We're killing our forward motion. Karzhai, I still have no clue what's going on! How have we 'betrayed' you?! We've been thousands of miles away!_"

"If you insist on acting like a fool, then I guess I'll humor you," The admiral retorted. "Seventeen days ago, the city of Halditha in the west of Nasr suffered a series of robberies, of weapons and supplies. Fourteen days ago, the village of Maramba reported exactly the same- medical equipment was swiped. Both of these crimes have been linked by dozens of eyewitnesses to you... you even admitted it yourself in a note left at the scene! Ever since, vital stockpiles have been finding themselves raided every few days! Just two days ago, you boarded a naval frigate and stole two of their broadside guns, wounding a dozen Nasrian Marines in the escape!

We thought of you as a hero... nobody expected this! But there's no doubt, Vyse. You haven't been hunting for a Moon Crystal.. you've been hunting for your fortunes, at our expense."

On the other end, the Bridge of the _Delphinus_ was dead silent as Karzhai recited their alleged 'crimes'. "... But..." David blinked, leaning up in his bed, which had been placed on the dais of the bridge next to the throne. "That's not possible, is it? No, seventeen days ago we were en route to the south, already past Cape Victory." He leaned back again, unable to prop himself up for long, as his chest throbbed. He was still quite weak, at least in physical terms, although he had managed to get his bed put up there through sheer stubbornness.

"That leads us to one logical conclusion," Lawrence, at the helm, said stoically. "They've got the wrong impression. Someone's been _impersonating_ us and doing this."

"Is that possible?" Fina asked, looking around. Cupil could change her form, and certainly there were methods of disguise for people as well, but who would go through all the trouble to frame them?

"It's certainly possible," Aika nodded with a sigh. "What a mess... no wonder the Nasrians were treating us like dangerous outlaws. Vyse, we _are_ outlaws in Nasr!" She leaned in closer to the radio, speaking up. "Admiral Karzhai! You've got it all wrong! Please, listen to us!"

_"... You know, I've been wondering something. 'Why?' This doesn't seem like you at all, even if it is the truth."_ After a long silence, he said, _"I know it's a risk, but I would meet you face-to-face and listen to you. However, you will come to my flagship with a single one of your lifeboats. If you accept these terms, come over here immediately with any crew you can fit on your boat. The _Delphinus_ will remain at its current distance from my forces or it will come under fire from the city defenses and the fleet."_

Vyse didn't like this, at all- aboard a skiff, they would be sitting ducks. He'd be going into their territory, almost helpless. Even with the dangers, he was innocent, and he knew that for a fact. That truth gave him courage, and he nodded. "Alright. Guys, I'm going over there alone to meet with the Admiral. I'll try to get some information and convince him that we aren't the ones responsible for this."

"Wrong, we're going with you," Aika said, crossing her arms in determination. Fina nodded, and Cupil chirped out a confirmation. "Someone needs to talk some sense into these Nasrians before they start shooting at us for real."

After only a moment's hesitation, he relented. "Alright. But everyone else has to stay here- I'm taking one of the lifeboats, and those only hold three at best. Enrique, Naomi, David, make sure everything's alright. This shouldn't take very long, if he'll listen to reason..."

"Wait," Enrique said. Vyse thought that he was about to object, but instead he reached into one of his tunic's pocket. With his gloved hand, he pulled out the Purple Moon Crystal, its amazing light bathing the entire bridge in a magical aura. The prince held it out. "I think you'll be able to use this to prove our innocence."

Vyse smirked. "Great idea. Thanks." He picked up the Crystal and stared at it for a moment before pocketing it himself. "Well, let's go. We'll be back for dinner, unless they shoot us."

"In which case, go ahead and have dinner without us," Aika said as they left, her proud voice slowly vanishing through the twisting metal corridors of the ship.

0-0

"I'm starting to not like this," Vyse said, staring up at the looming form of the Nasrian assault cruiser. Its powerful ball-turrets were all trained squarely on the little skiff, and smaller cannons mounted over the hull were also poised ready. "Overkill much?" He returned his attention to the helm, swinging them around in a wide arc past the broadside of the craft. This allowed them to see the biggest fixed-position beasts staring out at them with maws wide open.

"Just fly casual," Aika said, staring herself. Fina couldn't help but nearly cling to the redhead's back, not that she minded that much. Cupil made a whining little noise from his disguise as Fina's 'special bracelet'.

They reached the heavily armored rear of the ship. Below the massive nozzles of the reaction engines, four hangar bays were carved into the rust-red plating. One of them was open, and shed light onto a dozen Nasrian skiffs at bay. Vyse aimed for that, reducing his speed more in a professional manner as they passed to the interior of the _Autonomía_. No flight crew was visible from a distance, but once inside they saw that they were in a pit of sorts, surrounded by a higher-level walkway that led further inside.

Standing on that walkway were four Nasrian snipers, with first-generation semi-automatic rifles and darker red body armor. They all kept a steady aim on the trio of Air Pirates, looking almost like machines. Fina managed to stay calm, by holding Aika's hand.

They landed on the floor with a soft clank, and the propellor at the back of the Valuan craft tapered down to silence. Before Vyse could say anything, Karzhai stepped forward out of a doorway and looked down on them. "Captain Vyse," He said, trying to keep the hope from his voice.

"Admiral," Vyse replied, pleadingly. "Come on, don't tell me you actually believe that crap about us? I swear, we would never do anything like what you-"

"The evidence is clear," The Lord Protector shook his head. "Come closer so we don't have to raise our voices. You can put your weapons on the floor if you have any."

"We came unarmed," Aika assured him.

"Ah, all my fears are put at rest." He watched them ascend a ramp, walking up to him, and felt his soldiers around him tense up on a hair-trigger. Karzhai was very precious to the people of Nasr, and these men wouldn't allow thieves to take him in the hour of their greatest need. If Vyse could tell the snipers were on edge, he didn't show it at all. "So, now that you're here, I'll ask you... to face your charges."

Smirking, Vyse reached into his pocket. Karzhai prepared to take a step back, but when he saw it was only a moon stone he stopped. His eyes shot open when he saw the purple crystal begin to glow so intensely. _That energy... I've never seen such a strong magical aura, it's all around us..._ He didn't need to be told what the crystal was, that much was obvious. Vyse indulged him anyway. "This is a Moon Crystal," He explained. "What we were out looking for, for weeks. The Purple Crystal, in fact."

Aika glared. "That's right! This proves that we couldn't have committed the crimes you were talking about! There's no way we could have gotten that except a journey which would take almost three weeks, round-trip!"

Karzhai mulled it over. _It's true that if they were going to the Lands of Ice, like they said, then they couldn't have possibly committed these crimes. But... there's so much evidence against them, and I have no way of knowing weither this is real or not_._ I need another way to tell if they're genuine._..

"You still aren't convinced." Vyse sighed nervously. "Look, Fina's a Silvite, as you know. Fina, tell Cupil to come out and show himself." She nodded, and with a cute chirp, the shapeshifter unformed itself from her wrist. It created the amorphous silver balloon and began to float over her shoulder, chirping again in greeting. The soldiers stared at it in wonder, having never seen such a thing before.

Karzhai, however, remembered it vaguely during the aftermath of the Battle of Nasrad. He squinted, recognizing Cupil. "Hm... I can honestly say that no Arcadian technology we know about can create new life, especially something as useful as Cupil. However, this only proves that you are a Silvite. And as the people of Nasr are now doubly aware, being from the Moon doesn't make you any less evil. In fact... some postulate the opposite." Fina winced at the mention of Ramirez's atrocity and the backhanded attack on her own morals as if she had been slapped.

It was a remote possibility... "Do any of your witnesses or any evidence show that Cupil was involved in the crimes? There would be distinctive signs, exotic tool marks, and eyewitnesses would be really impressed by such a weird thing. No offense," He added as Cupil twittered twice in umbrage.

"Of course," He replied after a moment, but in his mind he was thinking it over carefully. Obviously, it seemed like a pretty minor detail, and the reports were fairly new, but now that his mind was on it... "Actually, I can't remember any testimony describing Cupil being present." _You'd think someone would have noticed a little silver sphere that turned into weapons and tools at the command of an alien girl_. "And onboard the frigate that was attacked by you... several storage chests were damaged, but their locks were unpicked, which is odd since I assume Cupil could turn into a well enough pick if the need arose."

"Well?" Aika prodded, desperation seeping into her voice. "If someone was impersonating us, they couldn't do it perfectly- stuff like Cupil is just so unique that it would be a sign!"

"Hm." His eyes softened slightly. "Maybe it's just because I'm old and impressionable... but you have brought up two good points of curiosity. This doesn't erase the damning proof we've collected, though, and you're still the prime suspects of the state." Vyse let out a long sigh, but before he could speak Karzhai continued, "... Unless you can establish without a doubt that this is a Moon Crystal. If you can..."

That was when Fina began to pick up on it. The emotions so clearly written on his face were not all hurt and betrayal, there was a slight bit of hope in the mix as well. H_e's forcing himself. Karzhai's a good man, and didn't want to believe we could betray the people... but all the evidence made him do it. He's doing this because it's his duty_.

"Maybe you'll listen to us more," Aika filled in for him, smirking.

"You have an idea?" Vyse looked over at her. "... Oh, I think I see where you're going." He chuckled. "Use one of theirs, though."

"Of course," She replied. "Admiral, I'm going to go over to one of your lifeboats and take out the moonstone fuel from its tank, and put in this crystal. When I start it up... well... Fina, what will happen?" She looked over at the Silvite beauty.

"Um... the Moon Crystal has so much power that it would probably cause your technology to.. explode violently," She replied. "Because of electricity overload, if nothing else."

"Right. Pretty obvious sign. Now, this isn't a bomb or anything else, and if I'm wrong, then it's just a well-polished hunk of purple 'stone. Because of the way your engines work, it'll barely turn the propellor if it's not supercharged. Right?" Technology built for the massive output of Red 'stones would barely scoff at being fed with the cooler-burning Purple chunks.

Karzhai nodded. "I'll accept that hypothesis. Proceed, then."

Aika leapt down to the flight pit, and walked over to the nearest rust-red metal and wood skiff. With a practiced hand, she removed the engine cover and located the large tank used to store moonstone fuel. Scooping it out and replacing it with the valuable Moon Crystal was an easy task, and she had soon replaced the hatch. "All set," She said. "Everyone, stand back more from the edges. This could get... interesting."

"When Aika calls it interesting, I generally want to run, screaming for my life," Vyse remarked, stepping back almost to the blast doors leading back out into the ship's decks. The others followed his example. Aika herself switched on the throttle to half-power for the little boat and ran as fast as she could back up to the walkway.

The engine sputtered to life, propellor beginning to spin amazingly quick. In a few moments, it became a blurry disk to human sight. The engine soon began to rattle in its casing, overloading as more energy than the mind could comprehend flooded its simple manifold. In less than fifteen seconds from the time of ignition, the engine combusted violently, sending flaming debris high into the air with a thunderous boom. They rained down on the flight deck of the Nasrian battleship like volcanic ash.

"..." Karzhai emerged from relative cover, examining the charred remains of his lifeboat and the flawless Purple Crystal sitting passively atop its jagged black metal. "... I'm impressed," He admitted. "I've never seen a fuel source like that before in my life, nothing with so much raw power to overload so explosively."

"That's because this was distilled by technology so far beyond yours you could consider it magic," Fina replied, going down to gently retrieve the Moon Crystal and bring it back to the others. "If you like, we could run _more_ tests on it to determine its properties more..."

"No, that's alright, I'm convinced that it's genuine," The Lord Protector sighed. "... I am a foolish optimistic old man, and in a corner of my mind I really wanted this all to be false. I didn't believe it, until the evidence smacked my own logic down. You're pirates, but the Blue kind, and not the Black."

"Just give us a chance," Vyse entreated him. "Let us help the investigation, and we'll track down our copy-cats. Besides, we can't just let everyone go around thinking we're common criminals- soon word will get out to the world if this isn't stopped. It could ruin our illustrious reputation."

".. Five people were killed in the robberies," Karzhai said. "Those responsible could be tried for the death penalty under the laws of the Kingdom of Nasr." He paused for a long time. "A week. If you can prove that somebody else was framing you for all of this within a single week, I'll give you full pardon in my authority as the Lord Protector of the Red Lands. If the time runs out... the warrant for your arrest will be carried out, and you'll be hauled to the Capital to stand trial."

"Sounds like a deal," The teenager smirked, his confident expression out in full force. He nodded, and said, "Thanks, Karzhai. We've never betrayed your trust before and we aren't going to start now." Vyse looked over at his friends. "C'mon, let's get going!"

"Where?" Fina asked.

"Nasrad, of course! We've got some investigation to do!" A thought occurred to him. "Hey, Admiral, by the way... can we have some uniforms to borrow? I don't think showing our faces in the city will be smart right now..."

Karzhai shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that's both inadvisable and not necessary. You're a public enough figure that we can track your movements, and you're still under suspicion. Helping you isn't my duty at the moment. However, the news about these robberies, or at least who did it, hasn't been leaked to the general public yet. You'll still be seen in a positive light by the commoners, although anyone who has an ear in the government might give you a glare. You don't need to worry about the wrath of the people for seven days."

The pirate nodded in understanding. "Alright. That's fine... we'll be leaving now." With that, he went over to the _Delphinus_' skiff and boarded, followed shortly by his companions. The single propeller in the back sputtered, and for a moment Vyse couldn't help expecting it to shortly blow up. When that didn't happen, he grabbed the rudimentary controls and lifted them off the flight deck, into the dry air.

0-0

"I honestly can't believe that you're going to do this," David told him. It had been five days, and arduous searching had produced only a single lead. David didn't consider it a 'lead' so much as a 'last desperate hope', but then again, maybe that's what they had to go with. The _Delphinus_ now sat at anchorage on the literal edge of Nasr, the sandy, jagged coastline of the southern region.

"Neither can I," Vyse admitted with candor. "But it's worth more of a shot than sitting around blindly and waiting for our ruin." Were he in better condition, the Vice Captain might have stood to argue the point, and the teenager saw it. He was an opportunist, though, and so pressed on. "It probably won't take half of an hour. In the off chance that something remarkable happens, I have the radio."

Don took another swig from his trusty old loqua bottle. "No worries. If the Valuans do attack again, we'll have my proven skills at the helm. Plus, those half-dozen frigates that have been shadowing us since we left Nasrad airspace."

"Neither of those 'assets' gives me great comfort right now," David pointed out. "You'll crash us into the desert, and those six are here to arrest us when we fail and run out of time."

"Well, I'm going," Vyse sighed. "Try not to get the whole crew too down yet, David." He spun on his heel and walked out of the bridge, heading quickly through the polished hallways. Instead of going directly out to the skiff bay, he hooked around and found himself in the regal setting of the Mess Hall. Marco and Pinata ran across the floor, making mundane cleaning an exciting competition, wet brooms carving through the food stains on the newly retiled floor. Pow followed, feet slightly dirty, thus erasing whatever progress they had made. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the sight.

Urala was there, with Polly, already busy cooking up dinner. The loud and cheerful sizzling of grills, and the heat and smoke from the ovens, wafted up to him on the second floor. Life went on for the crew, by now routine.

Another routine element of the Mess Hall was that one of the square tables in the back of the room had been commandeered by Osman to use in her personal stand, on which she had arrayed dozens of expensive items. Even living aboard the _Delphinus_ and making her way with her expert knowledge of economics, advising David and Naomi, she still tried to sell things whenever she could for a profit on the side. Vyse steeled himself- Osman was shrewd, and he knew this would cost him a few dozen limbs, at least.

"Hey," He called down to her, leaping off the railing and down to ground floor effortlessly. The small pink cat on Osman jumped slightly from the loud thump, but the merchant herself was unfazed.

"Captain," She said, fanning herself reflexively. "You have a need of my humble services?" She smiled under her tinted spectacles. As far as he was aware, Osman didn't think her services were so humble, but it was all in the spirit of politeness.

"Actually, yeah, I do," He nodded, having a seat on the bench directly opposite her. "I need a rare item. According to the lead we managed to dig up, there's a fortune teller in Maramba who might prove useful if I provide a weapon called the Suirian Blade." He smirked. "It sounds a little retarded, but it's better than sitting around moping. So, do you have it, or do you know where we could find it?"

Osman took a full ten seconds to think to herself, then spoke up. "Hrmph. I've definitely heard of that before... however my memory is a little..." She searched for the right word.

"Expensive?" The air pirate supplied.

"No, no," She quickly denied, shaking her head. "I assure you, I don't play those sort of games with information, only in solids and currency. Honestly, I'm trying..." Her wrinkled face became more so as she concentrated. Suddenly she gasped. "I have it! I heard a while ago about a sword that looked like a conjoined twin, sort of, and that sounded like it would be worth something, so I snooped around some of my old market contacts. Apparently, a Captain Ulric was going around bragging about his very rare and pricey sword... before he and all his black-market goods, including the sword, got seized by the Nasr government. They have got him locked up in Halditha, I believe."

Vyse was honestly impressed at her knowledge, even if she had to dig around a bit in her own mind for it. "Wow. I was expecting that to be a lot tougher... Halditha's north of here, right? Let's see... Karzhai's fleet is still around Nasrad, then we have to come back down to Halditha and bargain with this Ulric guy, then haul it all the way back down to Maramba..." He was no navigator, but a rough ballpark figure told him that it was possible to do in two days, if they hurried. "Thanks!" Without a further thought in her direction, he sprang up and jogged up the stairs, headed for the bridge.

He burst in and explained his plan to David, who was still skeptical of the whole idea but agreed with his methods. "Hey, Don! New course, straight for Nasrad, at full power."

The Esperanzan looked back. "What? But we just got here." His gloved hand was surprisingly empty, devoid of his usual drinks of choice. "Our fuel's at like ten percent because we forgot to fill up, and we can barely make the return trip without running dry on 'stones."

"We'll pick up some more at the capital city," David replied. "Just get us moving. Our time's almost up, and even assuming this works, it'll still take time to track down and apprehend the phonies." Don looked over at Vyse, who nodded silently in agreement.

The pilot shrugged. "Aye aye, then." He spun the wheel and cranked the throttle back up, the deck beginning to shiver. "I'm a leaf on a tornado, watch me go."

As soon as they were in radio range, Vyse got a personal channel with Karzhai and told him about his proposal. If David was skeptical, then Karzhai was outright mocking of the idea. After enduring some very choice words from the veteran soldier, he finally extracted a promise to help. The Lord Protector would send word to the contraband warehouses of Halditha, locate the Suirian Blade, and have it shipped via Naval courier straight to Maramba. The craft would be waiting for them when the Blue Rogues arrived.

Everything was going smoothly, which meant there was still hope. Vyse made sure to exude all of his considerable confidence and cheer, trying to get it to rub off on the crew, who were beginning to doubt. Nobody said anything out of respect, but many of them thought that they weren't going to clear their names in time and have to fight against all of Nasr. The notion of fighting both of the most powerful countries on the face of the planet at once was unappetizing.

The captain of the courier personally delivered the weapon, which was wrapped up as a package, and quickly got his ship out of the dusty port before it attracted too much attention. Vyse grinned as he took the sword out of its box and looked it over. "It's certainly nice. I guess that's one good thing about this adventure. I get a new blade."

"Nothing about it seems so special, I've seen a lot of swords of this type," Naomi said, frowning. "Then again, we are talking about fortune-telling, so maybe it has special super-mental energies."

"Everybody's a critic, but we're desperate," Aika replied, standing up for her best friend.

They made it through the small town and over the scorching sands separating the two parts without incident. The Yafutoman Vice Captain drew some attention from the villagers, but she seemed too taken with the heat to notice or acknowledge them.

With the help of a bystander they located the fortune telling hut, in the back of the town. Vyse remembered the odd tent structure from the last time he had passed through the town, after the titanic engagement with the Red Gigas and Admiral Belleza. _That was over six months ago, everything's changed now... except this place, apparently._ The rest of Maramba looked equally unscarred by Nasr's brutal war of liberation that raged all around them.

He led the way inside, followed by Aika, Fina, Enrique, and finally Naomi, who pulled the curtains back behind them. They were hit by an incredibly refreshing cold wind, generated by the Blue moonstones mounted on brackets around the single ornate table. The glowing magical light from the shards was the only source of illumination. The entire place had the scent of lavender.

Kalifa had studied each of them as they entered her tent, appraising them with her trained eye. They were almost completely free of sand and dirt, and obviously well-off air pirates. Probably Blue Rogues, given that they didn't enter guns-first. That meant they probably had a lot of gold, which would have made the fortune teller happy under other circumstances. Now, she was so out of sorts that she barely cared. Out of reflex, the Nasrian said, "Welcome, travelers. Please, have a seat and shed your burdens."

Vyse unbuckled his sword belt and put it on his lap as he sat down in one of the comfortable seats, making sure that the Suirian Blade within was visually sticking out of the sheath. The others sat down, all around the table, but the fortune teller's eyes were only for the sword. They couldn't tell that behind her large

"You have come... seeking my help in locating a number of criminals," She declared without preamble. "And with my help, you will apprehend them just on time to prove your own innocence." The teenagers reacted predictably, surprised at her spot-on accuracy. Aika leaned forward in her chair.

Naomi was the next to break the awed silence. "How much will this precious assistance _cost_, teller of fortunes?" After a moment she felt compelled by Vyse's gaze to add, "Due to our situation, as you _no doubt_ already know, we are willing to pay nearly any price in this world."

"Simple. I want you to take me aboard your crew as an advisor." She said this calmly, as if was something she regularly required of clients.

"... huh? Isn't that something I normally have to ask, beg, or pay for?" Vyse replied.

"In this case, I can tell that my destiny will be best served at the place where the Suirian Blade will be; namely, the _Delphinus_. If you allow me into the crew, I will go with you and assist you in the location of the frauds. Is that a deal?"

Aika had a few suspicions about how smooth it was going, but decided not to speak up. Vyse, on the other hand, was just glad, and quickly accepted. "Sure. How soon can you be ready to leave?"

"I have already collected what belongings matter most to me, as soon as I foretold your coming a moon ago." Vyse ignored the implication that he was being forced or compelled by destiny to accept, and not by his own determination of what was really best. Kalifa stood up, grabbing several moderately sized bags of fancy purple material from a dark corner of the tent, and said, "Let's be off, then."

Aika and Fina exchanged glances, and then Fina nodded. "Shall we?" And the Silvite led the way out into the glaring sunlight and scorching heat of the Nasr environment. They went back to the skiff at the docks, and on to the _Delphinus_, briefly introducing some of the crew to their new advisor.

Once they reached the bridge, Vyse pulled out a map of the country and spread it out on the central, polished and yet covered with crap table. "Where are we headed, then?" He asked, hoping it was near enough to allow them to get there and interpret the no-doubt vague hints the Nasrian fortune teller would give them before their time ran out.

Kalifa put one arm up, placing her finger directly on the icon representing Nasrad. "... Really?" Aika asked. "We have to go back to Nasrad? Back after we went there and left?" She nodded. "Well, where in the damn city are they?"

"As of this moment?" Kalifa let out a long sigh and tried to focus. "Plotting to rob the Nasrian First National Bank, I do believe."

"Of course they are," Enrique shook his head. "Well, then all we have to do is go there and get to the bank before they carry out their operation, right? Don, how quickly do you think you can get us to Nasrad?"

"If I really skim the edges of our performance I can get us there in under five hours," The pilot replied. "Not good for the engines, though. And it'll eat through over half of our fuel."

"Right now, speed's the most valuable thing you can give me," Vyse said. "Alright?" The Esperanzan nodded, kicking the airship into gear once again.

0-0

Nasr was a nation founded more on commerce than on war, and it really showed. The Royal Palace had held the largest military barracks facility in Nasrad, which were still only beginning to be rebuilt. Nasr's First National Bank, a building nearly as large as the Palace itself, had been almost fully repaired, by contrast. High-rolling transactions were already beginning again. The secured vault catacombs of the Bank held over 750 million in actual gold, and almost that much in security deposits and paper script. This beloved cargo had survived the near-obliteration of the city unscathed, and its dedicated staff somehow managed to guard the vast treasure from looters, Valuan or Nasrian, during the conflicts over the city.

By successfully robbing over a quarter of the bank's real assets, Vize and his crew would cement their sinister reputation and become multi-millionaires. Possibly the best part of the whole operation, as he had often reflected over the last few weeks, was that they themselves would almost certainly never bear the blame for it. The 'fallen rogue' Vyse would be called to justice. There was something that gave him a visceral pleasure as he envisioned it.

"Vize. Vize." The Mid Ocean farmboy didn't notice his companion's voice until it was accompanied by a smack on the shoulder. "VIZE."

"Huh?!" The teenager clad in eyepatch and stylistic red and yellow sailors' uniform looked over with a start, seeing the beautiful face of Faina inches from his own. He would have been more flustered if her expression wasn't her typical blast of arctic contempt. The girl seemed perpetually frigid and hostile with everything she met, him not excluded. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" He tried his best to sound repentant and gracious, but could detect no softening of her features.

"I hate repeating myself." After a moment, she added, "I was just telling you that Anita had something she wanted to tell us. Something from one of her sources in the Military Police." The civilian law-enforcement agency of Nasrad had been abolished by the Valuan occupation, and now the garrison forces of the Nasr Army provided those services to the city.

"What? That captain she was fucking?" She nodded. Both were well-adjusted and quite used to Anita's literally insatiable sexual taste. The sultry girl also had a way of moving information around that eluded both of the other impostors. "OK, then. When did she say she'd be back?" For now, the group was using a small, out of the way apartment near the rear walls of the city.

"Around an hour ago." The pale mage let out a long sigh. "Then again, punctuality was never one of her assets."

"Ha." Vize snorted. "I agree with you there. We certainly didn't hire her because she keeps her word, either." He was about to go back to musing about how perfect and wonderful his plan was when a loud thump shook the entire room. The door shivered as a louder set of bangs hammered into it.

Both of the impostors were watching as the door flew off its hinges and Special Tactical And Military Police stormed into the room, firearms and swords trained on them. Vize was so stunned that he barely heard their screaming to get on the ground. He looked up at Faina, who just brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes in a casual gesture. Then he looked back to the dozen-plus soldiers who were in a concave firing position on them.

Fear surged through his mind. Somehow, some way, the authorities had finally tracked them down. In Nasr, their murder of soldiers could very well go to the death penalty. That didn't even take into account his violation of the Special Wartime Acts that made it a capital offense to damage or steal government property or strategic resources. If he was brought in, he would be executed. There was no doubt about that.

What could he do? He felt the stares of the STAMP officers' guns, boring into his head and chest, just waiting for their chance to open fire. Faina was equally covered, although when he met her eyes she looked... confident. She made one more gesture to brush a troubling lock of hair, although this time her hand drifted down to her crystalline earring.

She unlatched the small shard of a Slipara Crystal, shaking her head and letting it fall to the floor. It had blossomed into soft blue light before anyone could react, and all of the males in the room slumped forward, landing on the floor at the same time, and totally asleep. That included Vize, who Faina was only too happy to leave behind. She did so, storming out the broken doorway and heading straight for the docks.

It was far past time she got the hell out of these pitiful ruins.

That tiny shard had in it, at most, five minutes of effect. After that the soldiers and Vize would awaken, and Faina could tell that neither were going to be happy about her departure. She ran, or ran as much as her night-black dress allowed her to do, booking it across the massive streets and packed sidewalks of the city.

0-0

The three of them sat in the almost clean interrogation room, complete with rickety table, the half-empty glass of water, and the one-way window. Anita drew in a breath, and then let it out in a slow, winding sigh. "Well. This turned out shitty."

"Yeah." Vize looked over at Faina for a second. The mage refused to meet his gaze, intently wielding her gaze as a laser against the window. In truth, he wasn't overly surprised at the failings of his two 'comrades'. Anita's very obvious infiltration of a military outpost was bound to get her snagged sooner or later, and Faina never cared one bit about the other impersonators when real danger visited itself upon her.

The wintry copy of a Silvite had gotten to their getaway ship, which was full of emergency provisions and enough fuel to get them all the way to Esperanza. Unfortunately, by a fluke of fate, the _Delphinus_ itself, bearing the genuine Blue Rogues, had come into dock a minute later. Under threat of the flagship's titanic firepower, she had, of course, surrendered.

Vyse shook his head, looking them over from the other side. "I can see how people thought they were us. I mean, they look identical aside from the opposite-color outfits. Oh, and I don't remember Fina ever looking at me like she wanted to impale me on the bow of our ship before." His grin grew with each passing word, and he finished on a high note. "Now, Lord Protector, I don't want to tell you I told you so. Aika?"

"We told you so," Aika said instantly. "And you actually believed us... enough to give us a chance, anyway. Thanks again."

"Believe me, I'm as grateful as you," Karzhai waved his hand. "Despite the idiotic manner that your dopplegangers started this domino effect, they had pulled off some cunning heists. They could have evolved into a major thorn in our side. As if we don't have enough issues." He paused for a moment. "And I'm glad my intuition turned out right. You and your crew are trouble; but the good kind of it."

"Why, sir, that's the highest praise one can afford a Blue Rogue," The very young pirate captain said with a remarkably serious and regal expression.

"I bet. Now that we have them, we can go through with the trial without even requiring you all to testify. We'll nail them on the murders and robberies, and give no thought to the impersonator angle. And as you know we've already sent out memos fixing your reputation in our inner circles, and the public never even knew you were all suspects." Karzhai was already breaking down the strategies and tactics he would use to take the criminals down.

"Perfect. There's just one thing I have to do." Vyse went over to the door, opening it and walking into the interrogation room.

The impostors looked up, surprise evident on their face. "Well, well," Vize spoke up with remarkable confidence, "If it isn't the original Vyse, O greatest of pirates." It was evident that he was ready to begin taunting him, and no doubt he would have, had the authentic pirate's fist not collided violently with his face.

The impact sent him flying backwards, his chair still under him and making a loud wooden cracking as it slammed into the warm floor. The officers in the police checkpoint didn't even blink or react to this assault.

Vyse wheeled on Anita next, which provoked her cry of, "Surely you wouldn't hit a woman!" She might have been an airhead sometimes, but the Blue Rogues were publicly known to be the much lighter half of the pirate equation where morality was concerned.

He laughed, right in her face. "Like the Hells I wouldn't." The concept of giving special treatment to women seemed at best snark bait to him, as he was raised to actually treat people fairly and equally. It was just one more example of where independent-minded Mid Ocean mores clashed with more traditional established societies and their customs.

"Vyse! Wait!" Aika stormed into the room. He turned to look at her, blinking twice. "Let me do it. After all, she's my evil twin, apparently." Upon consideration, he knew from experience just how hard she could hit if the redhead really put some steam into it, and nodded his assent.

Faina was grateful she was impersonating the much more gentle and subtle Fina as Anita literally went flying out of her chair from the sheer force of the kick. She cocked an eyebrow and said, "This is so far past police brutality, it's barely funny any more."

"Not really. The military has been saints with your handling, considering what you did to those guys who got in your way. We're just folk, committing Assault and Battery." Vyse shrugged. "I just wonder if the Lord Protector is going to press charges on me. Anyway, I just wanted to get that out of my system. Consider yourself lucky that I know you shit-heads are going to prison for life, or worse, or I'd be trying for more vengeance." Even looking at them was burning him up inside.

Karzhai leaned through the open doorway and said, "Excuse me, but their lawyers from the state are here. Let's give them some privacy." His expression communicated how much that phrase pained him, but he also spared a mildly reproving glance at Vyse. He was a man of Order, though and through, and that sort of rowdy conduct still got him a little uneasy. Due to the nature of the subjects, though, he let it slide without any comment whatsoever.

With the situation resolved, the crew of the _Delphinus_ spent a considerable period of time dirtside, relaxing and mingling with fellow sailors and villagers alike. Naomi and Piastol replenished many of the ship's stores and supplies.

It was long after sunset when the ship finally got underway, seen off by a cheering crowd that was composed of a suspiciously large percentage of soldiers. Don flashed their running lights in the traditional airborne sign of respect before kicking the engines into full steam and veering off into the darkness of the night air.

About an hour later, and the familiar crescent of their island came into view. Most of the crew had assembled on deck, and were using night-vision binoculars to watch as it grew larger in the distance.

"Haven't been home in a while," Brabham said, stroking his beard.

Enrique nodded. "Indeed. Sleeping with solid ground beneath my mattress will certainly be a welcome thing. At least until our next mission, of course." He tried not to sound too spoiled and wistful of the many creature comforts he still found himself missing from time to time.

Moegi tittered slightly, hiding her beautiful face with her long azure sleeve. "I certainly agree with you there, Prince Enrique. At least our time aboard ship has been less harsh since you recovered from your initial bout of airsickness?" The blonde colored very, very red in the face, but in the shadows of the deck nobody could see it.

Aika was sitting on the railing in blatant disregard for personal safety, and waved to Vyse as he emerged almost last to join the crowd of pirates. He walked over to her, hugging her closely and letting her warmth counteract the cold Nasrian wind of night. Neither of them had forgotten what happened the last time they were at Crescent Island.

He leaned forward, giving her a kiss that was eagerly returned. When Fina eventually showed up the two of them had fun with it, taking turns kissing and snuggling her in a way that the Silvite still found embarrassing in public. Some of the guys did not help by whistling and shouting encouragements to the rogues, either. Fina could only pretend to pout. For now, everyone on the crew was at some level of peace or another, as the _Delphinus_ slid into its dock beneath the island.


	5. Return to Valua

Chapter Five- Return to Valua

Fina and Aika were both still snuggled into him like warm, softly breathing blankets when he slowly returned to consciousness. The impious sun that held dominion over the Red Lands was already blasting into the windows with brilliant rays, and there was no trace of the chill of the night in the air. A small mechanical clock on his dresser told him it was about nine in the morning.

He stifled a satisfied yawn. Generally, pirates stuck to an almost military style of living, but everyone had come to the agreement that they would sleep in as late as desired. Just this once. He did his best to escape the two girls without waking them up. Luckily, both of them were still soundly asleep, and he slipped outside, leaving them in peace.

A quick inspection of the rest of the barracks found many bunks empty, but a lot of the crew were still sleeping in. He couldn't help from smiling as he saw Luke and Rodgers, snuggling together. While his attentions were on greater adventures, they had developed quite a relationship, and he was happy for his old friends. The only other human pile was the Secondary Gunnery Crew, who still slept together and with stuffed animals like kids. The teenager had a difficult time conceiving that these little girls were what kept his airship's guns blazing in bloody combat.

He made his way through the central grounds of the small village, past an artistic marble fountain whose sheer lack of utility had given David several seizures. He argued what a waste of money, time, building material and water it was, but in the end the vast majority of crew had simply loved the idea too much. In fact, all of the buildings were now at least partially covered in gleaming Nasr marble, a gift from the engineers.

Reaching the Mess Hall, he admired the Yafutoman stylings that had been added to it. The military officers had certainly done a lot from only descriptions and blueprints of a foreign architecture, but he was sure his own builders were eager to spruce it up even more. It still sported a large Nasr smokestack, however, which was billowing happily.

He pushed the doors open, and the teasing sizzling of grills met his ears while the lovely smell of cooking food availed itself of his nose. "Hey, Captain," Robinson called out from one of the tables near the bar. Other voices joined in the greeting.

"Morning, everyone," He replied, adjusting his eye patch and taking a moment to clean it. When he had strapped the advice back onto his face, he saw that Marco and Pinata were up, feeding Pow some scraps in a corner. Prince Enrique was nursing some loqua at the former castaway's table. Both of them had been watching Princess Moegi get some basic lessons in Ixa'takan dance styles from Merida. The two women had a good flow going on their own elevated and decorated stage, although the darker-skinned girl was a lot more comfortable with it. The Yafutoman still seemed a little shy about it all, despite her traditional flowing dress layers that made it hard to see any part of her actual body.

Of course, both of the cooks in the crew were behind the bar counter, tending open flames and sizzling piles of breakfast and lunch foods. Polly was so in her element that it took her a while to notice Vyse, and toss him a short greeting. "Everyone's going to be eating good tonight," She promised. The captain was not inclined to doubt that. "I'd say we'll have everything ready in about an hour."

Moegi had almost succeeded in tempting Enrique to join in the dancing. This amused Robinson, who agreed that the effeminate prince would make a good dancing girl. His embarrassed, indignant, and yet still very respectful denials followed Vyse out of the door as he moved on.

Ascending on the lift high above the village, he checked into the meeting room. More precious booty had been added to the growing collections, including several banners and flags from defeated Valuans obtained in various regions of Arcadia. The crew's most treasured artifact, though, was sitting in a comfortable bed next to the map-laden table.

David waved weakly to him as he approached, and he waved back, laughing as he recalled the memory of last night's work. Somehow, the ornery Vice Captain had made a good case for being allowed to make the planning room his new home, at least until he had partially recovered from his weakness. "At least then I can be somewhat useful," He had said with feeling. So, he had convinced able-bodied men to get his bed, with him on it, onto the lift and brought all the way to its current roost.

There were many old sayings about true power resting in executive officers, and sometimes Vyse had to wonder who was really running the show. "Get any valuable thinking done?"

"Unfortunately, no. Too busy passing in and out of consciousness and drooling all over my breakfast." David made a face. "A year. Can you believe it, Vyse? A year before I'll be able to walk- just walk, not even exert myself much at all- without assistance."

"It's miraculous you're alive in the first place," Vyse shrugged. "Besides, we didn't take you onto the crew to do the heavy lifting." He forced himself to be nothing but chipper, even though just looking at the man made lame brought back painful memories. "I was thinking that we could have lunch in the meeting room and bull over our next move. Just the command staff, so to speak."

"Great," He nodded. "Some company will help the loneliness. I've worked up some thoughts, in truth, but I'll save it for the meeting."

Vyse took his leave after a bit of small talk, rounding out his walk by descending into the hollow inner dock of the island. The cavern was full of mechanical noises, clanking, whirring and the fizzing of torches. The four engineers, Hans, Kirala, Brabham and Izmael, were already at it, working with the schematic for a new engine that they had drawn up and perfected during their voyages. Naomi and Piastol were also helping out wherever they could, fascinated as the beginnings of a revolutionary technology came together.

"Hey," He called down from the upper level, leaping onto the pole and beginning to slide down with practiced grace. "Already working, huh? That's the spirit I like."

"I wish I could say the same for you," Izmael snorted. "Look, Vyse, we're on the verge of completely changing sailing forever. With this pressure drive core and some modifications to the ship's armor and ventilation systems, you'll be able to go above and below the clouds. You can go right over mountains and storms, or below the damn continents themselves."

Hans looked up from the huge lump of sparking metal and crystal that sat, laid out like a gutted patient on the floor. "Indeed! This is so exciting, Captain Vyse. Yafutoman engine technology is truly unbelievable."

"Sounds great," Vyse agreed, rubbing his hands together. "How soon can you have the drive ready?"

"Well, all of the planning is done," Brabham stroked his beard reflexively. "We have the material and manpower to make it work. Give us a week and I think we'll be done, although with such radical design plans we might need as long as a lunar cycle for the refit."

"Everyone could use some relaxation time after our voyage," Naomi piped up.

"As long as you need," Vyse shrugged graciously. "After all, our quest isn't really gonna change. The only Crystal we still need to get is buried under tons of rock and metal. It'll keep." His own insatiable thirst for action and adventure burned as bright as ever, but he could see how others would need a breather every once in a while.

_Besides_, He reflected, _Maybe this will be the perfect time to brush up on my personal flight skills in one of our skiff boats_. It wouldn't be the same as commanding a real pirate sailboat, but it would certainly help his dulling flight abilities.

0-0

Most of the crew happily dined on their breakfasts, or lunch to the earlier risers, in or around the crowded Mess Hall. Don, being no stranger to a late start to his day, had come up with the catchy portmanteau 'brunch' to describe the meal. It had become quite popular amongst the Blue Rogues.

Aika, Fina, Vyse, Enrique, Naomi, and of course David were all taking their 'brunch' in the meeting room. "So," Vyse began, tearing into a leg of chicken as though he wanted to make sure it was really dead, "We've got the Purple Crystal now. That makes four in our loving possession." He pointed to the table, where the four eerily glowing crystals had been laid out. "The only ones we don't have are Silver and Yellow."

"The Silver Crystal is secure at the Shrine," Fina supplemented, and the teenager nodded in agreement.

"So basically all we need is Yellow, and then we're home free. You know, it's actually really odd. I almost thought that our quest would never end, and yet it looks like we're drawing into the endgame." He made eye contact with Fina for a fraction of a second before taking his next bite.

"It has been a tough road," Enrique said. "For all of us. Luckily, it looks like we may have a way to get to the Maw of Tartas without having to engage a lot of Armada forces. Vice Captain?" He motioned to David to elaborate.

"Right. Well, have a look at this map." David gently reached over to put an old scroll down, and Aika unwrapped it and laid it flat on the table. It showed the great sky continent of Valua as though it was cut in half, with a representation of the Capital City in the uppermost layers. Below, in what they had assumed to be solid rock, was a huge series of tunnels honeycombing the entire continent, and converging in a hub directly under the Maw of Tartas. "This is some classified intelligence that Enrique dug up. It's Imperial eyes-only. As you can see, the Valuans have found their continent is rife with these massive tunnel networks. It's very probable that the whole place was inhabited ages ago."

"Until now, even Armada flagships have never been able to locate an opening into the tunnels close enough to survive entering. We don't know anything about what's down there, and most scientists dismissed it. After all, everyone knows people can't go below the clouds without dying." Enrique chuckled.

"Well, until now," Aika slammed her fare fist into her large glove. "So we can find an entrance that'll take us straight into the Maw and we'll be passing up all the Valuan goons in the process. Sounds perfect."

Enrique continued, "The Armada seems convinced that if someone could just get into those tunnels they could easily find the Yellow Crystal. I see no reason to doubt that particular assessment of theirs."

Naomi looked over at Fina, and asked her, "What about the Yellow Gigas? Do you have any information about it?"

"Yeligar," Fina frowned. "Believed to be the second most powerful Gigas, right after Zelos itself. All Gigas use the Moon Crystals for control, but Yeligar drew on it the most for actual power. Combining its inherent abilities with the Crystal allowed it to cripple anything up to and including other Gigas with ease. The beast was so powerful that Silvite forces only just managed to pacify it for long enough to separate them. They erected the Seal of Tartas to contain Yeligar as it 'slept', and that's also where the Crystal is stored."

"So they sealed both of them in together?!" David huffed. "That sounds incalculably shortsighted."

"You forget that, no matter how much they mimic life, the Gigas are just weapons," Fina countered. "Except for, um, Plergoth, but you know what I mean. Even if Yeligar were to 'awake', it would never develop the intelligence to realize it needed the Crystal to achieve full power, and then be able to pick it up and put it in itself."

"Oh, right. I get it. Like taking the bullet out of a gun." The Vice Captain nodded. "Thanks."

"Even if it is weaker than it would usually be, I still think we should try not to wake it up at all costs, if it's still resting." Vyse sat back. "Just for once I'd love to pull off one simple plan without fighting what amounts to a titan."

Aika laughed. "Where's the fun in that? I thought you were still itching for some real action."

"Getting attacked by a Gigas is not the sort of action I prefer," Vyse said with as much dignity as he could muster. It wasn't much. "As soon as our engineers finish building and installing the pressure core drive, we sail for Valua."

"Alright. On to the next order of business," Naomi said, looking down at a long sheet of paper. "We are, bluntly, very rich. Given our large stores of supplies on the island and in the _Delphinus_ herself, we won't absolutely need to spend a single farthing on the necessities of living for a while. I think it's time we employed some of that gold and got some upgrades."

"Sounds great," David nodded. "Any specifics in mind?"

"Well, obviously, we could stand to improve our personal weapons. Ryu-Kan, if we provide him with enough resources, could increase their durability and destructive capability threefold, easily. We could also think about getting some ship upgrades, like magic ammunition, new coils for the Moonstone cannon, and expansions to the engine core. Since the mechanics are already tearing the ship basically in half, we should take this opportunity to improve it across the board."

"We'll trust you and David to see to all of that," Vyse said. "Economics bores me, even when it means I'm technically a high-roller now. I would like to get in some personal flight time with the skiffs, and maybe while I'm out there I can do some shopping at Nasrad."

"What else do we need to discuss?" Fina asked the Vice Captains.

"There's Maria's Hamachou," David said. "We've been importing stocks of Moonfish like any other exotic kinds of foods nowadays, and apparently the thing is getting big. We're talking almost as large as Maria herself."

"So?"

"Well, first of all, it's been spitting up some incredibly valuable objects, and although that colors my stomach a bit I won't look a gift Morocca shell in the mouth. And second, when it is fully grown, it goes through the triggers of maturity, and is compelled to leave the nest and fly through the open skies."

"... oh." Vyse thought of how losing her pet would impact the small, nearly mute little blond girl. She could talk to others with almost no problem now, if only for short periods of time, but the Hamachou seemed to be the only being she felt actually at ease around all the time, surpassing Doc or Piastol. "Well, what can we do about that?"

"I don't know there's anything to be done. This is a natural part of life. Plus it's netting us some rare items without any of the work usually associated with obtaining said items." David smiled.

"Like getting shot?"

"Like getting shot," The Vice Captain acknowledged. "With that bit of not-at-all offensive humor, let's end this meeting and get around to the business of waiting. I know you're eager to get on with that."

0-0

The peace of being at home and enjoying the full luxury of their money was something the crew knew was artificial and temporary. This didn't stop them from enjoying it one bit, with everyone indulging themselves, sleeping in, and generally treating this like an amazing vacation. Vyse didn't see anything wrong this that; some captains liked to enforce military order, but he didn't see a need for it.

When the engineers had finally finished their upgrades, the _Delphinus_ looked like a new ship. The bow was extended, including new layers of magically-enchanted armor and a larger, more powerful magnetic coil system for the Moonstone Cannon. The ship now had more primary and secondary cannon batteries. In the rear, the ship sported interior turbines full of fans instead of exterior-mounted ones. The inside had more room for storage and had its own honeycomb of armor to protect the crew and cargo decks from enemy fire. This was not to mention the fresh red paint-job that striped down either side of the battleship.

"It changes color again," Vyse frowned slightly. Blue was his favorite color, after all, even though he had no problem with red.

Brabham shrugged. "Couldn't find enough blue paint, so we figured we'd go with a change. If you give us a few more days we could fix that."

That prospect made Vyse a lot more generous. "No, it's fine like it is. We need to get in gear and grab that Yellow Crystal. Speaking of which, Naomi, go around and tell everyone we're setting sail this evening, at sunset." The stoic former Tenkou officer nodded to him and turned, walking up the ramp towards the entrance to the cavernous inner hangar. "You guys did an amazing job with the ship, as usual."

Hans beamed. "Thanks, Captain. She's ready for a test run if you feel like it."

It wasn't a wooden sailing boat, but it would definitely due. Vyse grinned. "I'll take you up on that offer. Let's board the ship and take it out to show the others in style."

Vyse and the engineers went aboard the _Delphinus_, all that was needed to make it fly. Izmael stayed behind to work the docking clamps and construction claws, which were still latched onto the noble hull. Vyse got to the bridge and took the helm controls for himself, gunning the throttle. The reactor started up with thunder under his feet, the thrum of life.

_"Engineering here. Everything's running better than expected,"_ Kirala called up through the radio system. "_Hangar doors are opening now, go ahead and back us out, Vyse_." The ship shivered as the dull thump of the claws and clamps detaching filled the air. The _Delphinus_ picked itself up, floating suspended in the middle of the huge gulf that had been carved out to accommodate it. Vyse waited until the large stone slabs behind them had fully retracted before hitting the first notch in the reverse throttle.

They moved, slowly and methodically, backwards. The dark cave and networks of metal around them slipped away, and bright light slowly washed across the shining new armor. The _Delphinus_ cleared the opening, and Vyse gripped the wheel, turning the ship about and feeling it respond seamlessly.

Vyse looked up, to the edge of Crescent Island's surface, where his crew was gathering to check out the ship. He couldn't hope to hear anything they said, but he saw Aika waving and ran out onto the deck to wave back. From the way everyone looked, it was obvious they approved of how the ship looked now.

He took the battleship in several orbits of the island, throttling up until the ship roared through the sky and whipped about the island in a few seconds flat. He turned and began to fly away, rocketing out, before suddenly stopping the forward thrust and violently turning the ship. For its size, the _Delphinus_ was remarkably wieldy, and the ship pulled the maneuver off with no problems.

Vyse considered putting the ship through some more maneuvers, such as a barrel roll, but thought better of it and returned to the hangar area. He settled the ship into its bed of rock and extended the boarding ramp, shutting down and locking the helm controls. The reactor died off into silence, for now.

They departed Crescent Island at sunset, as planned, and turned towards the darkened and distant skyline of Valua. "The continent's so close," Don said, shaking his head as familiar memories of flying through the polluted air came up. "At least now we won't have to fight any cronies."

"All hands, stand by for high-pressure conditions," Naomi announced over the radio as the new partially see-through armor plates folded over the ship's windows, followed by thicker layers over the main hull. "We're pressure tight now, Captain," Naomi said. "Ready to go."

Vyse nodded. "Dive, Don. Take us below the clouds and due west, hugging the coastline." The sturdy airship dipped below the lower clouds, submerging into the uppermost layers of Deep Sky, where the air pressure was deadly. Don paid close attention to the altimeter and pressure gauges to keep them off the red-lines as he goosed the throttle, pushing them out parallel to the land. They saw the jagged rocks extending down below the surface, like the body of an iceberg.

The _Delphinus_ traveled on through the night, with the crew sleeping in shifts. Everyone had a somewhat fitful rest, with the subtle reminders that they were deeper into the atmosphere than humans had been since the Rains of Destruction. Robinson opined that it was almost like being within the Dark Rift again, only without the howling winds and ominous creaks in the hull.

Lawrence had just taken over for Don when they approached the Grand Fortress. They killed all running lights and hunkered down, passing directly under the large floating island and impressive reinforced security fleets surrounding the gigantic metal wall. They weren't spotted, but the Valuan alarms still suddenly went off, throbbing huge bursts of noise that almost penetrated the bridge windows. "They got us on radar," Marco said, alarmed.

"Yeah, but what are they gonna do about it?" David asked from the rear of the bridge. "They can't come down to our level to fight and none of their cannons will track far enough down to shoot down at us, that I know of. As long as we don't bother them they won't have a choice but to let us go."

A dull thunder around them proved David wrong. "... Torpedos?" Lawrence said, simply.

"Right. Forgot about those. Fuck. Try and get out of their way, go to active radar." Lawrence flipped on the main detectors and watched his screen come alive with contacts, as Valuan ships all around began to cluster and follow the _Delphinus_. He spun the wheel, pushing the engine to its limits as he weaved between dozens of plunging missiles.

Vyse had been asleep, but the first thunder woke him up and he arrived quickly. "What's up? Are we at the Grand Fortress?"

"Unfortunately. Some smart-asses decided to try and peg us with a torpedo... which given our current situation would end up collapsing the hull and sending us much deeper than is advised." David winced as another concussive blast rattled the ship. "Lawrence is booking it but they're in pursuit, and even with our speed they'll be able to keep firing at us for minutes."

"We'll shoot back, then." Vyse stepped up to the vacant torpedo controls, bringing the launchers online and moving the targeting cursor back towards the pursuing cruisers. The upgraded targeting computer made launching the explosive charges easier than ever, and even he had no problems sending off a volley. The first of their torpedos did little, bursting somewhere above the enemy and raining sparks and debris on their armor.

The second charge slammed into a torpedo frigate, piercing its reinforced topdeck armor and landing inside one of the ship's magazines. The explosion cooked off hundreds of volatile torpedo heads, engulfing the entire ship in smoke and fire in a few seconds. The ship, gutted and literally melting, began to falter. Lifeboats scattered in every direction as the ship sunk.

"One kill," David cheered. "Let's try for two. Keep firing until they get the hint!" Their return fire kept raining around them and one of their torpedos ripped into the very front of the ship. Vyse thought it just sheered through before it could embed and detonate, but a moment later an explosion shoved the ship backwards. The Valuan charge had found enough purchase in the tip of the nose and went off, anyway.

"We've lost the first set of magnets for the Moonstone Cannon," Lawrence reported after a few seconds. "Cannon power down twenty percent. At least it's still functional." Vyse let out a long sigh- another hit further down the nose would have crippled their super canon and forced them back to base before they would dare take on a Gigas.

One of Vyse's next rounds smacked into the conning tower of a Gunship that was frantically trying to pursue even as the distance slowly increased between them. Their bridge vanished in flame, and the ship came to an abrupt stop as it lost its leaders and control functions.

The Valuans kept trying to follow for a while, but eventually they were too far away and both sides stopped lobbing torpedoes. The _Delphinus_ had taken another hit in the side and there was an ugly gaping hole in their armor, but nothing vital had taken damage and they decided to keep pressing on.

"Remind me again why we couldn't have flown _around_ the Grand Fortress?" Marco asked, looking down at the smoldering hole in the nose armor through the viewport.

"Can't afford to be away from the coast for a minute," Vyse explained. "What if an entrance was right under the Grand Fortress? That would suck, especially if it's the only open one in all Valua. It'll take a week to fly all around this continent, and if we have to double back, we'll need to go refuel at Nasr, and then come back again... it'll be a pain in the ass. Worth a little risk to make sure."

"If you say so," The former urchin shrugged. He wandered off down the hall, leaving the teenagers and adults on the bridge.

The crew spent the next two days watching and waiting, as the _Delphinus_ curved with the shore slowly north. They passed under sky rifts and mountains that would have impeded the progress of anyone else, eagerly scanning for a chasm they could use to enter the insides of Valua.

They passed a few small fishing and trading outposts, metal towns that resembled old Esperanza, and which got Don nostalgic. While heavily intoxicated, off or on duty, he regaled the crew with tales of his exploits as an Imperial pilot. Almost everyone seemed to enjoy his story about defying Admiral Alfonso the best.

Their engineers and mechanics had patched up both holes in the armor and even gotten the magnets mostly aligned again, bringing the Moonstone Cannon above ninety percent of regular power. It was great work, but they had plenty of free time to go about it.

Finally, on the third day after they passed the Grand Fortress, lookouts spotted a gigantic hole in the side of the land around lunchtime. Vyse was elated that they had successfully found it, but as they plunged into the dark, yawning, massive caves ahead, that elation mixed with a sense of dread.

"Feels almost like when we entered the Dark Rift," Enrique commented from his spot at the torpedo controls.

"Hey, we got out of that ok, more or less," Aika said. She grinned and poked him in the ribs as she reminded the prince, "Although you were still throwing up something awful the entire ride. We're lucky we could dump that or we'd have all drowned in it."

"That's disgusting, Akia," David scolded. "Let's turn on the running lights."

Their lights snapped on and filled the huge cave with illumination, revealing ancient yellow bedrock pocked with deposits of other minerals and dark crystals. People watched from the observation deck, many of the crew looking in wonder at the ancient tunnel. Schools of mysterious faintly glowing fish passed to either side of the craft, some of them smacking into the ship's sides from lack of care. They had evolved without airships traveling these ancient routes and had forgotten their dangers.

"These creatures have not been seen on Arcadia's surface for ten thousand years," Fina gasped at the various fish species, including a huge, long eel-like creature that nearly got itself caught in one of the rear turbines.

Don frowned. "I don't like them. They clog our engines and we get stuck in here and we're screwed."

A sonar pulse revealed a fraction of the massive tunnel network, which Aika and Naomi worked on mapping out. They reached a huge opening in the cave and emerged into what seemed almost like open air, the distant cave walls almost invisible in the gloom. Stuck to the walls and on the rocky floor were buildings; ruins made of a mysterious yellowish metal or rock. "A Yelite city," Fina said, squinting as the _Delphinus_ dipped down and painted some of the buildings with its searchlights.

Vyse realized that more of the 'rock' was just layer upon layer of urban structures, filling up the entire expanse of this enormous cave. "There must have been millions living here."

"Tens of millions," Fina agreed. "They're all gone now... let's keep moving." The battleship climbed away from the murky ruins, taking almost an hour to across the cave and reach the other side, sliding back into the narrower tunnels.

"How long do you figure these tunnels go on for?" Vyse asked the Silvite girl some time later.

She shook her head. "Possibly several times longer than the continent itself if the entire place is honeycombed, and I suspect it is. That was probably not the only city, or even the largest one, in these Yelite caverns."

The next interesting thing they found was a former shipyard. The docks were let into the stone of the caves like the city, and featured rows of huge platforms and hangars. Some of them still contained ancient, alien-looking ships of all shapes and sizes.

"Take us in closer," Vyse ordered. Once again, Lawrence dipped the nose and slowly dropped the ship towards one of the hangar rows. "Technology from the ancient world. I wonder if it still runs..."

Aika blinked. "Vyse, no way. You can't be thinking of..."

"Well if their Crystals and Guardian machines are still running after all this time," Vyse replied, grinning, "Maybe their ships are, too. We take that home and we can mine it for... I dunno. But that technology's gotta be priceless."

"I agree," David nodded. "Let's assemble a team to get over there and take one of the ships. But be careful, guys. Maybe the Yelites built their security systems to last better than the Purplites."

Vyse asked for volunteers and got just about everyone's offer to help. He decided to send Brabham and Fina over there, with Enrique in case having Valuan blood or electrical magic would work, and with Piastol and Rogers to escort them in case they found trouble.

They went over in two of the metal skiffs, flying side by side and landing on the deck of the nearest ship. It looked almost like an old sky manta ray, with a long, curved and winged structure made out of the smooth yellow material. The command deck was on the 'belly' of the craft, but there were no visible engines. "Strange design," Brabham remarked as they landed.

Piastol and Rogers sprung out, weapons drawn and ready for anything. After a few moments the former Bounty Hunter called, "Clear!" And the other three gingerly debarked. They made their way across the deck and to a huge starfish-shaped door. "How are we going to get this open?"

Nobody had a better idea, so they decided to try and pry open the different pieces. Nothing budged at all. "Hm..." Enrique felt the metal, an declared, "My Yellow Magic experience gives me the ability to detect running current. This ship is still powered, that's why this bulkhead won't yield."

"That's a good sign," Fina said. "Can you manipulate the controls or circuits? Or cut off the flow of power?"

"I can try," The prince of Valua replied, and told them to step back. When they were a few paces away he started blasting the door with a variety of Yellow spells and magic. He tried a lot of tricks before finally getting some kind of result. He was beginning to overload the door, and pumped all of his energy into frying it into malfunction. The arcane circle around him grew and intensified until it resembled the sun.

Finally the bits of the door slid in and opened, revealing the stale air of the dark passageway ahead. Enrique took a few breaths, letting his magic fields die back and feeling the toll it took on him. "Good job," Brabham said, slapping him on his back and nearly making him topple over. "Let's get movin', kids!"

With Fina casting a spell that lit the hallway up, they made their way in the direction of the bridge, but encountered another door blocking access to it. Enrique let out a big sigh and shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't think I'll be able to manage this a second time, my friends..."

Piastol frowned. "Then I will, the old fashioned way." She twirled her staff and smashed it against the metal. This had no effect but to make her hand shake a little. She growled, smacking, slashing and hacking at the obstruction with all of her might and getting nothing for it. Eventually she admitted defeat. "Yelite metal is strong, indeed."

"Hm..." Brabham looked around the hall and spotted something. "Look, up there! A ventilation shaft. How cliche. Think we can pry that open and climb in?"

"What if the vents have fans that are still running?" Enrique asked.

"You got a better idea?"

"No, but that doesn't mean that we should just-" He sighed and watched Piastol slice off the much thinner metal grate over the vent and leap inside. "Fine. As long as I'm not going first, I'm for it." They got in, one at a time, with the prince being the last in line, and crawled forward slowly. It didn't take long for them to arrive at a grate panel overlooking the bridge. Piastol took out the last of her annoyance on it and it fell, allowing them to jump down. Piastol and Rogers caught the prince, old man and Silvite so they weren't hurt.

The bridge itself was an oval-shape with two levels, full of ancient computer screens and tons of wiring. A few of the screens still flickered faintly. Everything on the bridge was still and silent, and nobody could have guessed that its main reactor was still online.

They went up to one of the central control stations and Fina squinted at the odd writing. "I can translate some of this... I think." After studying it, she said, "This is the... Combat Information Center, the CIC, I think." She went around, trying to identify all of the control stations. "Here is Communications... and Engineering... Helm Controls... ah."

Brabham went up to the Engineering console, took a look at the alien alphabet and keyboard, and started pounding away randomly at it. His efforts produced an abrupt shudder throughout the craft, followed by noise as all the screens slowly lit up and bathed bridge in an electric blue glow. "I think I just jump-started this ancient thing!" They figured out, more or less, which buttons did what, and Piastol sat in the helm position, as she was familiar with flying and navigating a sky vessel. Rogers at communications managed to turn on a radio of some sort, and worked through the frequencies until she could talk to the _Delphinus_.

"_Good job,_" Vyse said as soon as he learned of their progress. "_We were showing some energy spikes up here. Looks like that ship's about ready to take flight again. Bring her up and if she's airworthy form up behind us as we move out_."

The ship rose, at first unsteadily, but the old half-invisible engines slowly gaining power. Soon, they were easily coasting behind the _Delphinus_, following the other ship deeper still into the heart of the continent.

Vyse didn't bother to count the hours, but he knew it was a long time later when he came back to the bridge to check things out and found Lawrence on duty at the helm and David asleep. "Coming up on another cavern, Captain," Lawrence reported after glancing at the sonar screen.

This time, what Vyse saw ahead made him gasp and let out a reverent swear-word or two. A gigantic, hulking metal.... thing was resting in the otherwise barren cave. It was made of the same yellow metal as the buildings and ships they passed, and it floated in the middle of the closed, dark air. There was no mistake, even without anyone to tell him he knew what it was. "Yeligar." He shook David awake, who couldn't help but stare at the behemoth as they drew slowly closer.

It looked almost like a mechanical spider, with many curved and jointed 'legs' sprawling out under a central hub with an electronic eye which was currently closed. The thing didn't react at all at the airships' steady progress towards it, and Vyse thanked the Moons that the titan was actually asleep like it was supposed to e.

"Get someone out on the deck," Vyse said to Marco, "Signal the Fina and the others on that Yelite ship to sidle up and get the Yellow Crystal. I can see it... just above the eye. Nice, slow and quiet." He was worried using the radios or moving the _Delphinus_ too much would alert the superweapon and spell their doom.

Tikatika signaled the command, and the Yelite ship moved up, slowly and elegantly swimming the gulf of water and coming directly in front of the terrifying Yellow Gigas. They did, in fact, find the gleam of the Yellow Crystal, placidly buried in what could be called Yeligar's 'forehead'. Everyone was straining to watch, tense and nervous, as Piastol went out onto the deck and leaned over the old railing, finally plucking the Crystal out and grabbing it to her armored breast.

Vyse let out a long sigh. "Come on, let's go before it can ever have a chance to notice us."

The Yelite ship was almost back to them when one of its ancient flight fins began to crack and show fissures. Vyse blinked, magnifying it through his glass and watching the old wing protrusion. "What the hell..." It continued to split open, and soon began to rain little chunks of metal down.

"Don't worry, there's almost no chance that thing will get woken up by a few pieces of falling oh my fucking Moons its eye is opening son of a bitch." David's derailed sentence had all eyes on Yeligar, whose middle green orb was indeed beginning to open up. "Wh.... that doesn't even make any sense! Man, we really are cursed..."

"Yeah," Aika agreed, sighing. "Looks like we're in for another fight..."

A huge, primal, completely inhuman roar shook the entire cavern and the ship, as Yeligar finally awoke without its Crystal or any clue what was going on. Vyse opened his mouth wide and yelled, "180, Lawrence! Full power to all engines! Get us the hell out of here!" The _Delphinus_ began to turn, and the Yelite ship passed them, darting into the tunnel.

Sensing the new spike in power, the Gigas reacted in its perfectly natural way- by sending out a huge magnetic pulse that struck the _Delphinus_ and killed all electronics aboard the ship, burning out wires, causing fans and motors to explode, and wiping out mini-computers and circuits.

Without any power, the stolen Valuan flagship tilted and fell. Lawrence glided the hulking metal craft into the tunnel, and they skidded to a crash-landing a few meters from the opening to the cave. The impact rattled the ship, sheered extra armor off, and sent the entire crew tumbling.

_Delphinus_ finally came to a halt, and Yeligar slowly began to approach, looming ever more massive right behind them. "Can I say it?" Aika asked. Vyse nodded his assent. "Ok. Son of a bitch!"


	6. Power

Chapter Six- Power

"EMP," Lawrence reported. "Main power is gone and some of our circuitry is burned out. Don't know if it's enough to lose all control." All of the control panels smelled heavily of burning rubber and silicone as little smoke trails came up from their keyboards and levers.

"Switch to secondary generator," David ordered, and the command was relayed down the talking-tube to engineering.

"_Secondary's down too,_" Hans soon yelled up to the bridge. "_We have no power, bridge! None_."

Yeligar loomed directly overhead them, stretching out and charging up another gigantic attack. "Brace yourselves," Vyse said, grabbing a useless power console. Electricity fizzled around all the widows and viewports, but the insulated armor didn't let it flow in and they didn't take any damage.

"Hey, that thing can't hurt us while we're inside the _Delphinus_' armor, power or no," Vyse grinned. His smile melted away pretty fast as he thought about something. "Wait. We had a watchman up in the crows nest, right?"

"Yeah, Tikatika was... up.... oh my Moons."Aika glanced up towards the conning tower, but from this angle she couldn't see up onto the observation deck. She grabbed the talking-tube and said, "Tikatika, this is the bridge! Report! Hey, crows nest! Respond!" She got nothing but silence. "No..."

"No way he survived that on the outside," David said, laying back in the bed and feeling the ship shake ever so slightly from the next futile electrical attack. "That kind of voltage will cook a man like a piece of meat."

The _Delphinus_' first fatality of its pirate career. Many of its crew had sustained various severe and mild injuries, but Vyse realized with a yawning horror and shock that this was the first person directly under his command who was dead. Back on Pirate Isle one of the crew or a civilian would occasionally die, but he was mostly too young to fully comprehend it.

He felt like he was almost going to be sick, and suddenly turned around, moving towards the door. Aika gripped his shoulder and stopped him, shaking her head. "Don't do it, Vyse. Don't go up there..."

"He's up there," Vyse shook her off with ease. "We have to get to the crows nest and make sure, he could have survived..." A third blast of Yeligar's fury upon their hull made all of the people in the bridge turn to stare at him. "I need to... see it..."

"Not now," She protested. "If you go up there, you're dead!" She grabbed him again, abruptly pulling him into a tight hug. "Not now," She repeated, shaking her head, almost moved to tears by her own regret. "We can give him a burial after this is over."

Vyse jerked in her loving embrace, and he tried to get out, but his own strength was failing him. His adventures so far had brought him into contact with a lot of death. In a way that had insulated him from realizing its true darkness; it had always been other people, often enemies, that were killed. That softened the moral and mental impact of it, somehow. There was nothing to soften this, which was like a gunshot to the stomach.

_They've achieved so much and come so far, but in the end they're still just teenagers, having to face something like this...._ David stared out the viewports, narrowing his eyes. "What the hell was that?!" The others glanced up in time to see the Yelite airship dart past overhead. The ship was moving incredibly fast, and trailing little lines of yellow light that seemed to draw the Gigas' attention. It slowly turned to face the new threat, which was just coming around an a hard attack vector.

David didn't know if the Yelite ship had any weapons, and it became clear that their crew in it didn't know either, as they didn't shoot the Gigas, but just turned around again. Gigantic spheres of electricity shot out from Yeligar's eye and chased the ship, but its own armor was just as impervious as the _Delphinus_'.

Distracted for the moment, Vyse watched the superweapon as it almost looked angry, plodding over through the air back into the vast cave and continuing to shoot at the Yelite ship. The air was full of strands of electricity, but no matter how much sound and fury the thing tossed up it couldn't have any effect on its target.

Yeligar abruptly switched tactics, beginning to charge up a massive beam of energy in the center of its huge metal legs. The Yelite craft turned about yet again, engines blasting at full speed straight for the _Delphinus_, trying to get into the tunnel in case this new attack proved more deadly.

A massive flash made them all shield their eyes as the very ground around them shivered. The first person to look back up was Fina. She gasped, pointing towards what was once the top of the cave, which was now open sky. "It just... blasted..." The bottom of the cave had a huge crater in it, too, and the Gigas had just dug a new tunnel of almost a mile. "Isn't this where the Seal of Tartas was? That was thick Silvite battle plate, that just got... demolished..."

"This is him without the Moon Crystal? Damn," Vyse said. "I'm almost curious to see what he could do at full power." He wished the radios were operational, at least, so they could talk to the Yelite ship as it came back out into the cave once again. The annoyance ascended straight up into the sky, and Yeligar followed, letting out mechanical roars and summoning whole thunderstorms in an attempt to nail his foe.

The ancient craft continued to circle the Gigas despite its best attempts to knock it out of the sky. One time, as Yeligar was spinning around for a shot, it spotted lights on the distant horizon, in the darkness of the Valuan mountains at night. Realizing both of the ships were, for the moment, harmless, the completely uncontrolled superweapon began to head straight for it. The Yelite ship kept trying to draw attention, nearly ramming into it, but it ignored them.

On the lip of the underground tunnel, the crew of the _Delphinus_ faced new tension and waiting, as the shock of death got stale and they began to mourn. Vyse finally convinced everyone to let him go up to the crows nest and get Tikatika.

He climbed up the long ladder through the conning tower, but when he got to the nest, he found himself stopped in his tracks. The dark-skinned Ixa'takan scout was sprawled on the ground, not moving at all. Vyse couldn't find his pulse, and crinkled his nose at the scent of horridly burned flesh. He was definitely dead.

The teenager was suddenly paralyzed, unable to make himself just pick up the body and retreat down the ladder. All he could do was stare. Tikatika was a part of his crew and had almost been forgotten, for the same reason he was now dead.

A rush of new wind blasted him and he looked up on instinct, seeing the Yelite ship pull up almost against the Crows Nest and Enrique emerge onto its deck. "Vyse, I-" He trailed off as he spotted the body. He gulped, but steeled himself and pressed on, "Yeligar is headed right for Paso de Montaña! That village has over ten thousand people living there, not to mention the other mining towns ringing the area!" It all clicked in the young captain's mind and his mouth hung open. "That's right. We think he'll be there within twenty minutes. We have to stop him at all costs!"

"The _Delphinus_ is dead on the dirt," Vyse said, still seconds from gagging from the stench of cooked flesh. "That's why you couldn't raise us. It's up to that ancient ship... have you found any weapons?"

"As a matter of fact, we found something. It's not like any cannon or magic I've seen before but I think it'll work... if we can get a power source for it. Send for all the yellow stones aboard ship!"

Vyse nodded, went for the talking tube, and updated the bridge crew. "I'm going over to the Yelite ship," He announced. "Alone." The way he said that made it clear that was an order, and nobody, not even Aika, raised an objection. The engineering crew got dozens of large radiant yellow moonstones up to the crows nest, and Vyse took them along as he hopped aboard the Yelite ship.

Enrique and Vyse went into the bridge, and Vyse dumped the stones near what looked like the weapon control station. "Get it working," He said, and Fina and Enrique nodded, finding places to insert several of the moonstones. The console hummed to life as if it weren't an ancient rusted relic, and displays in an alien language flashed across the screens. "Good job," He said and managed a smile for them before making his way to the helm. "Sorry, Piastol, but you'd better let me fly this thing. I have more experience flying ships larger than skiffs." The former bounty hunter relinquished the seat and he perched on it, quickly getting familiar with the symbols and displays with her help.

He had them rising steadily out of the crater and into the open, dark and murky air when Fina gasped. A beam of coherent yellow light sprang from the bow of the ship and lanced into the yellow-tinted mucky dirt of the ground, burning a huge crater and tossing up plumes of superheated gravel and smoke. "Electro-particle laser technology! It's heavily inefficient and weak with such diluted moonstones, but it's still effective!"

"Nice," Vyse said. "Get ready, we're going after that thing. I hope one of you knows how to aim." He gunned the 'throttle' and felt the craft lurch and groan as it suddenly acquired great motion, like flicking a light switch. The controls felt so responsive because the ship literally responded to any command within a moment. Whatever propelled the craft didn't seem to be limited by many of the constraints of modern engines and aerodynamics. He did a few gentle maneuvers and then turned the nose until the titanic yellow metal beast loomed dead center in the viewscreens.

_Fire with fire, you motherfucker_, Vyse thought grimly. _You made this personal, and I'm going to kill you with the technology they used to make you in the first place_. He felt a sick hatred, a need for revenge, mix with his urgent desire to protect the townsfolk and innocents he had placed in danger by awakening the beast, as well as that of destroying a true menace to the world. It all pushed him on, and within a minute everything about flying the craft felt so natural, he could have sworn he was piloting the _Albatross_ itself.

Somehow sensing the new potential for danger, the Gigas slowly turned around, lightning crackling around it like a shell and occasionally whipping out bursts of electricity at the old ship. These continued to have no effect, as far as the crew could tell. There had to be a limit to the tolerance of the ancient craft, though, so Vyse tried to evade as best he could as the range rapidly fell between them. "Fire!"

A particle beam appeared, connecting the two combatants in the air and heating a tiny spot on one of the creature's spidery arms for a half-second before the beam cut off. Vyse jerked the controls sideways and felt the craft leap to starboard just in time to avoid a head-on-collusion, jerking the ship around for a hard looping turn. "Keep firing as soon as you have him in your sights! Try to concentrate fire on that green eye!"

Following his instructions, the mages sent barb after barb of yellow light at the Gigas. Some were clean misses, burrowing craters in the rocky terrain beneath the fight, others sizzled ineffectively at the body and arms, but finally one burned straight and true, superheating the mechanical creature's eye. For a moment they thought they'd achieved something, as the behemoth paused and shook in the air, but ever so quickly it had recovered and coated the air with thick lightning that obscured visibility, proving it was still going at a hundred percent.

All they could do was keep attacking, both ironclads dancing in the crackling air and tossing attacks against each others' impervious armor. If nothing else, every minute they spent engaging the monster was a minute it wasn't spending slouching towards an inhabited region.

"We need more power," Enrique bemoaned as a third attack hit the green eye, and while it took a second or two longer than the last time to recover, it was clear the attack was mostly ineffective. Especially considering the groaning and shuddering of the craft had begun to get worse, and the crew suspected the old ship was near falling apart.

The prince looked over and met Fina's eyes, and the two of them shared a moment of understanding. "The next time we fire, we'll cast together," The Silvite said, and he nodded.

Vyse spun about to give them a firing angle yet again, and their voices merged together. "Moons, give me strength," They both cried as they cast their most powerful Yellow spells and opened fire on the Gigas. Their energy flowed through the console as though it were a sponge, super-powering the particle beam and turning it into an oblong sun as it closed the small gap between combatants.

It was impossible to see what had happened until Vyse brought them around again, revealing Yeligar's pain as it staggered in the air and looked on the verge of dropping. Vyse heard cheering behind him in the ancient bridge, and he couldn't contain a malicious grin. "This is going well."

Without warning, the sound of more thunder battered through the sealed compartments of the Yelite ship and they looked around to see Yeligar's newest attack. All they saw, however, was distant muzzle flashes followed by the pockmark explosions of cannon fire on the Gigas' armor. Vyse rotated the ship and zoomed in with his eyepiece, watching distant specks in the mountains leap forward and turn into Valuan warships, possibly as many as a dozen. "Oh, what the hell."

"Imperial ships," Enrique exclaimed. "It must be one of the patrols in this region. They usually don't come out this far, but the battle must have drawn their attention." They expected to start receiving fire themselves, but the Valuans seemed to be focusing on the Gigas, sending more rounds of fire through the air to little effect.

Well, that wasn't true. It did have one effect- annoying Yeligar. Despite whatever pain or damage it felt, the titan reared up and let out another mechanical roar that shook the frame of the Yelite ship. The Gigas turned with menacing slowness towards the new attackers, and began to summon up massive storm-clouds with crackling bands of lightning.

"They don't stand a chance," Rogers said, clutching her panel and watching the doomsday weapon go to work on the ignorant patrol fleet. "We have to warn them!"

Enrique was already going for the radio, but before he could hail the Valuans, he saw his countrymen get struck down with sickening ease. The lightning lanced across the metal ships, burning out electronics, shattering windows and lights, and melting human beings. One by one, the airships shuddered, rolled as their engines lost power, and smashed into the unforgiving dirt and rock below. Secondary explosions and fires lit up the crash areas, and thick choking smoke rose to join the dark clouds and smog already polluting the air.

Vyse jerked himself out of being a spectator and said, "Keep attacking!" He smacked the throttle to startle everyone out of their semi-trance. His crew went to work again, and the two mages started stabbing with their enhanced beam again. Several more shots were off-center or missed completely, but Yeligar seemed to be taking the smaller assailant more seriously, physically swinging its massive legs and trying to smash the craft when they came in close.

The teenager got too careless on one of his orbits, and grazed close enough to Yeligar to allow it to extend an appendage and glance the side of the ship. Rending, sheering metal screeched like nightmarish demons, the entire ship shook and rattled, and they were all tossed around as the armor plating and wing-tip on the port side came clean off, the sparks cooking off wiring and energy cells and causing the ship to sprout a small trail of smoke. Vyse cursed and wrestled the ship back on course, going further out this time before doubling back to return fire.

The jagged cracks in the ship's ages-old armor began to expand, from the blasting of the winds, stress of the battle maneuvers, and the wear and tear of action it hadn't seen for so many years. Popping and crackling noises assailed their ears and layers of supposedly invincible battle plate folded, wadded, and sheered off the craft like aluminum.

"This ship isn't going to last long," Brabham cautioned, doing what he could with the strange engineering controls. "Structural integrity is 'bad' at best, Cap'n!"

"Then we need to end this quick," Vyse said. "Fina, Enrique, we're counting on you! Put all of your power into the next attack!" He tried a gentler loop as he brought the ship around yet again and Yeligar loomed like a twisted old friend on all the screens.

Fina clamped her eyes shut, taking in several deep breaths and trying to calm her racing heart so she could focus. Enrique placed the targeting reticule directly on the glowing green eye, and said a quick prayer to the Yellow Moon. He was about to start his own spell, but his words were cut off as the viewscreens turned to pure white and the ship was enveloped in a massive particle beam that Yeligar had generated after studying his enemy's attack.

The blast melted through several layers of the weakening armor, but it just barely held, saving the Blue Rogues' lives. Sheer kinetic force from the particle streams moving at such high velocity smacked the ship like a sledgehammer, tossing it right into a dirty hillside.

The Yelite ship made the least graceful 'landing' Vyse had ever seen. The craft dug a trench at least fifteen meters big before screeching to a halt, stern buried in yellowish dirt. The ship had crumpled up, the hull bending and twisting under the final blow that the ship just couldn't take. The wings were gone, the engine cones had been taken off and the ship's power source had taken damage and was losing a charge it had worked for ages to keep. Everyone was thrown clear of their stations, strewn on the floor or laying over blinking instrument panels and controls. The silence in the cabin the moment after impact was deafening, before the cursing and yelling started.

The pirates picked themselves up, helping each other if possible, and everyone was more or less on their feet when Vyse said, "This fight is really pissing me off."

"What now?" Piastol asked, glowering at the viewports which showed the Gigas slowing advancing on them, its legs grinding together in preparation for what they would do to the dying ship and its crew.

Vyse looked over at Enrique, who looked like he was going to be sick again, and Fina, whose back still felt like it was on fire. "You have an angle for firing and the weapons are still online, for now. Take him out." The prince opened his mouth to protest, but couldn't think of anything to say, and so he nodded along with Fina and they went back to their post. Vyse took a random seat and allowed himself a few gulps of stale air, dealing with a sharp pain in his own head.

"Moons, give me strength!" The two mages yelled, filling the cabin with blinding magical light and watching the weapons panels light up in sympathy. The Yelite ship, buried and seemingly hapless, suddenly sprouted a bright flower, that bloomed out and whose bud stretched the distance to Yeligar and hit it dead-center in the eye.

The Gigas stopped, dead in its tracks, looking like it was trying to curl up and protect itself as smoke drifted up from the damaged electronic eye. It roared and crooned, shaking. Once again, the crew hoped that the damage they had given him had been sufficient to keep him in place, maybe even destroy him somehow. Once again, that hope was frustrated when Yeligar uncurled and kept coming for them, angry thunder booming a constant, deafening drone to show that the Gigas was angry, but not much impaired.

Fina was ready to faint, and she glanced over at Vyse. "Vyse.... I'm sorry...." She looked down, shame in her eyes, and the young captain felt sympathy for her, as well as Enrique, who didn't look any better after discharging so much magic. "We couldn't do it..."

Vyse worked his mouth, seeking something to say as the monster's massive shadow came over the craft, plunging them all into semi-darkness. For once, nothing heroic came to mind, and all he could do was look back and forth between his crew and the Gigas.

They waited for the final blow of the hammer, but it never came. Instead, the world was once again engulfed in light, this time with a blueish tint. The beam of energy penetrated the Gigas and went clean out the other side, turning it into a burning lighthouse for a split second of agony. Afterwards, Yeligar roared yet again, steam and debris falling off the penetrated 'chest' of the mammoth. It looked around for the newest assailant, and spotted something on the lip of the blast crater it had made in its escape.

The _Delphinus_, barely aloft, dirty and half-crippled from its dirt nap, rose unsteadily, with the pride of a brawler who had taken a beating and gotten back up to return it. Its prow was split open and the Moonstone Cannon smoldered from its firing. The pirate ship looked defiant and ready for more action.

Yeligar stabbed out with lightning, but with the range between them it had little effect. The _Delphinus_' cannon charged up again, and for the second time a Moonstone Cannon shot went directly into the Gigas. This time, the beam was angled slightly down, penetrating one of its spider arms, and then going straight through the electronic eye and the brain behind it, melting both of them, and continuing out into the sky.

The rogues aboard both ships watched with a shell-shocked amazement as the Gigas, dead, began to list like an airship that had taken too much damage, and then drift towards the ground, gaining speed as gravity clutched at it and took dominion. Chunks of armor and interior hull flew off, the structure falling apart even before the pieces hit the ground, throwing up clouds of dirt and dust that obscured Yeligar's body and its resting place for a good minute. The ground shook with the impact, and the clouds seemed to react, cords of lightning coming down and converging on the crashed, ruined hulk for a time before finally receding.

"Dead.... it's dead..." Fina found the strength to go over to Vyse, embracing and leaning against him. "We did it..."

"Yeah," Vyse confirmed, stroking her hair and holding her tightly. "We're done here."

0-0

Vyse stared down on the wreckage. His hands gripped the deck's guardrail and he felt Aika and Fina clinging close to him, and the surprisingly gentle Valuan breeze on his face. "Hans, you think we can salvage anything from that Yelite ship?" He asked the engineer, who, like most of the entire crew, were out on the deck.

Hans nodded. "That beam weapon definitely looks like something we could retrieve, patch up, and mount on the deck. Maybe we'll take apart one of the secondary guns to do it..." Vyse gave his permission and the engineer rounded up some help, going down to retrieve ancient computers, samples of armor plate, one of their power cells, and the weapon in question.

He felt someone new touch his shoulder and he turned his head as best he could, sandwiched between girls. "Domingo," He said, surprise coloring his otherwise dull voice. "Haven't seen you around a lot."

"Took me a while to get used to the ship and lifestyle, Captain," The explorer replied, his chipper voice sounding a bit forced. "Um. About Tikatika. I was already trading off with him in the nest, and I wouldn't mind taking all of his shifts. At least until we find someone else." He clearly didn't like broaching the subject, but was pushing himself to keep going.

Vyse frowned, then nodded. "Alright. Thanks, man." After another moment of silence, the orange-clad man retreated. "Hey, Fina," He spoke up to the Silvite whose eyes were still half-lidded. "You need to get to bed. You look quite beat."

She shook her head, stifling a yawn. "I'm fine as long as you two are up," The beautiful girl lied. She didn't want to leave them, she just wanted to stay there, holding her loves until the world ended.

Aika said, "You know, I think I'm ready to lay down, and Vyse looks tired too. Let's all go to sleep for now." The other teens agreed that was a great idea, and the three of them left the deck together, quickly leaving orders for the _Delphinus_ to get moving once the salvage was done, and then retreating to their quarters.

Eight hours of glorious rest later, they awoke to find the _Delphinus_ was already over open ocean and headed on a straight-line course for Crescent Island. Most of the crew were still sleeping, while Naomi stayed on watch with Don on the bridge. The ship's powerful hum and rhythm stuttered occasionally, like a fluttering heartbeat, and most of Engineering was still up and wrestling with their equipment keep the battleship afloat and moving forward.

Vyse looked out a window and noticed that the ship was, in fact, above the clouds. This was still something he could never quite get over, as the clouds had been the absolute barriers to flight for as long as he'd lived. If you tried to go above or below them, you didn't come home. All this changed the equation, at least for them. Very few creatures were above the clouds, and no ships, allowing them to pass completely unopposed, with only the need to dip down every once in a while to reorient themselves.

He looked over at the sound of footfalls on the metallic deck, and saw Robinson. The old veteran sailor had changed about as much as it was possible for a person to, since they'd rescued him from the Dark Rift. Now he looked professional, especially as pirates went, although his sailing tunic was still pocked and weathered and his hair was about as long as his own. A flintlock pistol was holstered at his side, the handle made of translucent red moonstone. "Hey, Vyse," The man said. "How're you holding up?"

"I dunno. I'm still just kinda numb, you know," He said. "Still can't believe it." He tried to find words to explain it, but failed and settled for shaking his head.

"Yeah, I do know," Robinson said thoughtfully. "Lost a lot of people in my day. Especially when we were all lining up to kill ourselves in the Dark Rift. Lost most all of my friends in there."

"Does it ever get any easier?" The teenager asked.

"No," Polly's husband replied, shaking his head. "At least, I never want to be in a time and a place where it does. It's all part of being human, man. We grieve our dead. We blame ourselves for it."

"We should have gotten Tikatika below decks before that thing attacked," Vyse objected. "We did that with the other battles, it's standard procedure. But we were so taken by surprise that we forgot to give the order, and he forgot to fall back."

Robinson nodded. "Yeah. But this sort of shit happens. People mess up, make mistakes. I know it's going to take more than my word, but as far as death goes this one wasn't no more your fault than mine or even his." He sighed. "You were gonna have to zone out a graveyard on Crescent Island anyway. Pirates' work is dangerous, especially the stuff we're all doing. It's pretty likely you're gonna lose more people."

Vyse fought back tears as he nodded. Pirate Isle had a little plot of its land devoted to graves and tombstones, stacked atop one another to save space and with corpses buried tens of meters into the dirt and rock. Every pirate base almost certainly had a similar place. "Let's put it near Gonzales," He said. "Might as well."

The man nodded. "Sounds good, I guess. I'll leave you alone now, Vyse, but just remember what I told you. Ain't your fault." With that, he took his leave, and Vyse was once again alone in the long hallway, with only the stuttering beat of the engines underfoot as company.

The news had obviously spread, but the crew thought it best not to tell Maria. The other kids, as well as Belle, had already found out and they'd reacted as expected-badly. It couldn't be kept from her forever, though, as Doc well knew.

He let out a sigh, leaning against his desk and considering his options. "I already talked with Maria a long time ago about death. Well, with her history, I thought that was warranted. I'm still not sure how she'll take it. I think she liked Tikatika, he came around the med bay a lot because his immune system couldn't handle all the extreme conditions and new germs we were giving him."

Piastol said, "I think we should just tell her. It's better to get it out of the way now, together, then to let it brood and make her angry by keeping her in the dark."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Doc said. "We'll talk to her together, then." He shuffled some papers, sorting them about and trying to divert his mind from grief with the menial actions. The older man paused and looked up at Piastol. "Hey, I don't say this enough, but I really appreciate having you around. You're great with assisting my practice and handling Maria."

She shook her head. "It's nothing." She felt embarrassed by being praised for something she felt it was only her duty to do, even if she enjoyed it.

"Then it's a damn good nothing," Doc said. "We'll tell her when we reach the island. Until then, we have a few patients with some injuries from the crashing we've done. Especially Osman, she fell on her face and it's not pretty." He paused. "Um. More than usual. You know." This elicited a small giggle, which was so completely unlike people assumed her to be and made him smile.

Although the route was relatively short, they took several days to make it back to Crescent Isle due to how messed up the ship was. Engineering reported that they had only just restored power by tearing out all the wiring in the engine room and replacing it with spares, and even then some of the actual machinery was fried. "Have to replace the entire moonstone processor when we get home," Brabham had chewed Vyse's ear off with it.

"So," David spoke up as Crescent Island came into view as a speck on the horizon, "We've got all the crystals now."

"Yeah," Don said. "That's awesome. We finally did it."

Aika said, "It seems like so long since we started out on this quest, and it's only been a year. I guess time flies when you're risking your life and battling the forces of evil, aka Valua. No offense, Enrique."

"None taken," The prince said with all the officiousness he could put into his voice without cracking up.

As the _Delphinus_ got closer, they spotted a ship at anchor, bobbing placidly under mooring in the sky right next to the island. Its black sail pattern was unmistakable, and Domingo confirmed it. "It's the _Claudia_!" Everyone seemed cheered by the news that they were going to see Gilder again.

"Can't wait to tell him about everything that's happened," Vyse said. "Good and the bad." He glanced over at David, who merely nodded. "He might be kind of pissed at me. I did break his Vice Captain, after all."

"More like proud of you. He's been doing his damnedest to get me killed since we were six," David said, waving an arm in a dismissive manner. "And you made more progress these past months." Despite that, anyone could tell the wounded man was looking forward to seeing his lifelong friend again.

The _Delphinus_ slid into its underground port, coming to rest with less grace than Don usually showed, even while totally drunk. "Not my fault," He said before anyone could criticize the rattling impact. "The throttle's been choppy and the controls aren't much better. You all are lucky I got this thing on the right course and me and Lawrence have had a hell of a time getting here."

Vyse laughed. "I'm sure we're all just glad we made it. Come on, guys." They laid out the platforms and began to debark. Vyse, Luke, and Piastol proved sufficient for hefting David's bed and carefully bringing it out of the ship, grunting and complaining about it the whole way while he laid back and mimicked fanning himself and eating grapes to get their ire up. For his smart-assery, he got dropped a bit rougher than was strictly necessary on the lift headed up to the briefing room.

As expected, Gilder was in the room, sitting at the head of the great table when they entered, his boots up and crossed on the table as he leaned back, a bottle of loqua nearby. "Long time no see," He remarked, and held up the bottle in salute. "I hear you've been up to all kinds of trouble. Couldn't be prouder of you guys."

Vyse said, "Hey, Gilder. We definitely have plenty to tell you, including..." He dragged the bed into sight, and David waved slightly. "This."

Gilder blinked several times and then stood up in surprise. "David? What happened?"

"Shot," David replied. "Would be dead if it wasn't for Fina. As it is, I'm merely crippled for a year or two." He passed it off so casually, but a certain awkwardness hung in the air.

"Wow," Gilder shook his head. "Well, at least you're still around! You always were the toughest SOB outside of myself wherever we went." He went over to David and clasped him on the shoulder. "That'll be one hell of a scar you can show to your kids with pride."

"Don't think I hadn't considered that," David replied cheerfully. "Come on, get me into the room." At his urging they finished the job, laying the bed down against the table. "I usually perch in here so I can help with the planning and stuff, even bedridden."

"Perfect," Gilder nodded. "So, now I'm even more curious about what you guys have been up to." He settled back into his chair and took another swig as Vyse and the others began their tale.


	7. Dangral Island

**Authors Note**- A long time ago, I swore to myself this story wouldn't end like this. No project I've ever done has made me so profoundly proud and happy than this one. A few have come close, but this story... I can't believe I started this thing in 07. I can't believe how hard I crashed. Well, it has never died in my spirit, and here's the proof. This story will reach its natural and intended conclusion, on my life, and, hopefully enough, it won't take another three years to do so.

* * *

Chapter Seven- Dangral Island

Lord Galcian never stopped thinking and plotting, always exploring with his mind and searching for advantages and answers. As he stood in the place where, many months earlier, one of the two remaining Silvites in the world defied him and Air Pirates physically broke through the grandest fortress in history, he couldn't help feeling some irony. In the time since then his plans had advanced so far, and it seemed that nobody suspected what he was planning to do.

Well he supposed that he couldn't blame them. Peoples' memories and perspectives were very short and the memory of the horror that Silvites could wreak on a planet were long faded. But Galcian knew. And soon, sooner than even he would have predicted, he would be able to remind the rest of the world.

The heavy new security doors creaked open obtrusively, but Galcian did not look away from his view at the window. Only one person would come in without being announced or announcing themselves- Ramirez. He had come for his weekly briefing on the status of their project.

"What do you have for me, Ramirez?" Galcian asked, his rasping voice filling the cold, metal room with the palpable air of menace that he was careful to always project, even to his most trusted friend.

"The construction of the port is complete." The white-haired young man's voice was much quieter, but one could never mistake it for a humble voice, and in a way it was even more threatening than his new master. Especially considering what the owner of the voice was capable of. "_HMS Chameleon_ is being refitted to operate in Deep Sky now. I've also received word that the elevator to the bottom of Deep Sky has just been completed as well."

Galcian allowed himself a satisfied chuckle, quite pleased with the work crew's progress. "Excellent. Soon everyone, especially Her Royal Highness, will bow before my might..." His eyes wandered up to the imperious yellow orb overhead, shining through despite the constant, smothering black clouds. "And not just the people. Even the very Moons will be beholden to my will. I will own the entire world."

"You will reign supreme, my Lord," Ramirez agreed, bowing his head.

The larger man glanced over at him. "Tomorrow morning I will depart for Dangral with the supply shipments to oversee the final stages personally. Inform Commander Valquez he is to double the convoy escort and prepare his flagship to transport me. And tell the rest of the Admirals they are to meet at Dangral Island two weeks from now. We'll find out where they stand."

"I will pass the orders myself," The Silvite acknowledged deferentially.

A few moments passed, and then Galcian turned to actually face Ramirez, looking down at him with his dark, dangerous eyes. "I walk the path of death and destruction. I know you are a Silvite. If you wish to change your mind, now is the time." He wouldn't have asked if he wasn't already sure of the answer.

Ramirez didn't even have to think about it. "I chose, so long ago, to follow you along any path, even this. My Lord, I will forever be at your side, and kill all those who oppose you. That is my function, my duty, my purpose." The youthful warrior had a small, affectionate smile on his face, his eyes showing genuine respect for the man who had given him a real worth and use in life.

0-0

Twenty bottles, a hearty dinner, and innumerable calls of 'bullshit' later, Gilder sat fully informed about the romp the crew had been on. He shook his head, grinning, unable to hide how proud he was. "You guys have all been in so much trouble. Big-league pirates, now; your bounties are up there with the worst. So..." The rogue turned his gaze to the center of the table, which was free of food and drink, and instead held all five of the Moon Crystals.

Each gem had taken so much to acquire. They were pure and beautiful objects; one a sphere, another a pyramid, simple shapes, made out of translucent moonstone, purified by powerful technology until it constantly gave off a glow like they were moons themselves. The powers stored within each were impossible to calculate.

They were mesmerizing, but everyone had gotten a bit of time to get over that, although Fina had seemed to focus on them a lot throughout the meal. "I guess now that you have all five, you're going to take them home." Gilder's voice made her look up, and she blinked, nodding slowly.

"That's right," She replied, looking absorbed in thought.

Gilder didn't notice, though, and plowed on. "There was actually something I've been wondering for a while. I figure I might as well ask you now, before you go... where, exactly, do you come from? Where is the Silvite homeland?" The crew of the _Delphinus_ had literally gone across the world, and somehow never once even accidentally bumped into Fina's home. That struck him as quite odd.

All eyes turned to her. Everyone at the table knew she was a Silvite, to some degree or another, but Gilder was a little out of the loop. Vyse and Aika had gotten the full story when they'd set out on their adventure; she was actually an alien, but even most of the crew didn't really know that. Born on the Silver Moon to the last remnants of a once dominant civilization, she'd been sent from the sky.

She slid out of her chair and walked over to the window, holding her hands against her heart as she looked up. The Red Moon was clearly visible, hanging suspended amongst the field of stars in the night. "That place to which I must return... the place Ramirez and I were born... the Great Silver Shrine."

Aika blinked. "Great Silver Shrine? Wait... you mean, as in on the Silver _Moon_?"

Gilder did a double-take but Vyse let out a sigh. "Aika, she already told us, back on Pirate Isle. Ha, I guess it's hard to believe she came from a place so far away. She acts just like a regular person, even though at first she had a hard time fitting in."

"Wait," Gilder shook his head. "Run that by me again. The Silver Moon?"

Fina nodded, still not looking back at her friends. "The Shrine rests upon the surface of the Silver Moon, so far above the sky that I could only come with the aid of my people's most advanced remaining ship."

"Upon." Gilder had heard a lot of outrageous things in his life, many from the people in this room, but what he was hearing now could take the cake. "As in the Moon? Up there?" He pointed for emphasis, even though Fina couldn't see. "How? I mean, above the sky, there's not enough air... some even say there's a point where there's no air at all! How do your people live?"

"The Shrine's environment is just like here," She said. "With how advanced the Silvites are that's a trivial thing. The real marvel was how the Shrine got there at all... it was to escape the aftermath of the Rains of Destruction." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "After that horrible cataclysm wiped out every other civilization, the last Silvites, in a desperate effort to survive, combined their powers and levitated a grand shrine off the planet, sending it flying beyond the reaches of even the Rains. We survived, watching from above as the world was destroyed.

And now, we work to make sure Arcadia doesn't make the same mistake it did once before." She glanced back at them, letting it all sink in. Gilder was silent now, reclining in his chair with his hand cupping his chin. "I plan to take the Moon Crystals back to the Shrine, where nobody can reach... and make sure they're never used again." Vyse nodded, Aika looked as if she was remembering, if slowly, and the others were in various stages of processing. Gilder looked like he would take a while.

After a pregnant silence, Enrique cleared his throat. "Um. How are you going to get home?" Her small ship had been sunk by Alphonso on her first day in Arcadia. _What an ignorant ass. I should have paid him a visit during my escape_.

"I... don't know." Fina looked down. Recovering her ship was pretty much impossible, and no Arcadian vessel could hope to make the journey.

"Can the _Delphinus_ reach the bottom of Deep Sky?" Aika asked, shaking her head. "We've only ever tried going half a league beneath the clouds, and even that made the engineers plenty nervous."

That seemed to end the discussion, with a run on ideas, but Fina spoke up once again, staring straight down at the floor. "You know... I've been thinking a lot. If we can't find a way for me to return home... then I could... stay here, with everyone." She shook her head. "A silly thought, I know. My mission's more important than that..."

A wet blanket had fallen over the mood, and Vyse sighed. "Well, first of all, we're going to keep trying until we do have a way, because that's how my crew does things. We'll go bother Brabham and Izmael about this tomorrow and see if they can get the ship ready. We're going to pay this new Valuan project we heard about a little visit."

0-0

The _Delphinus_ was undergoing refit, as the entire Engineering crew worked around the clock. Their goal was to completely repair damages suffered, again reinforce the hull, and pull out a fourth of the secondary battery in order to install the Yelite weapon. Something told Vyse that time was of the essence. Every day lost in preparations meant that Valua was creeping closer to its goals. The Engineers told him that it would be at least a week, though, even with them working themselves to death.

For anyone without technical skills, the refit allowed them a nice period of vacation, relaxing on the island's blissfully mild climate. Marco and Pinata had roped Maria into playing a game, pulling her out onto the bottom crest of the island, where Vyse's flag flew proudly in the breeze, and showing her how to toss jacks. Pinata had just tossed his out when something caught his eye, and he turned to look at the cloudy blue sky to the west. There was definitely a speck... "Hey, check it out!" He pointed. "Might be a ship!"

The other two kids might have seen this as just an interesting spectacle, but Marco quickly felt a pang of fear. If a random traveler, explorer, or, worst of all, an Imperial ship had spotted Crescent Island, they were going to be in huge trouble. He ran down the nice white paved path into the base, moving with his considerable speed to try and find Vyse.

He pounded on the door to his room in the main barracks, and after a few moments Vyse came out, in a casual white shirt and pants, his hair a bit messier than usual and his usual glass skyglass missing. "What's up?" He said, blinking. Marco stuck his head in a bit and looked around but didn't see anyone else. "Hey! I was relaxing, not... how do you know... look, what is it, Marco?" The teen let out a sigh. Kids.

"There's something in the sky! It looks kind of like a ship! And it's getting bigger!" That certainly got his attention, and Vyse went back to grab his skyglass.

After he'd gotten a good look at it, Vyse nodded. "... Crap. Yeah. That's definitely a Valuan boat." It was metal and shaped roughly like a can of beans, with stubby turbines sticking out the sides of the craft. The ship was making for them at what looked like full steam, although it was obviously moving pretty slowly. "Marco, go get the others together." If an Imperial scout had located them, they didn't have any choice; they had to take a boat out and capture them to make sure they couldn't report back.

He made his way to a Valuan skiff parked in the underground dock near the site of the refit, and waited. It didn't take long for Piastol and Aika to show up, armed and ready for action. "I think we can handle this," Piastol said. "Let's get moving before they start pulling off."

Vyse paused for a moment but said, "Yeah, alright. It's probably just one guy in there anyway." He kick-started the motor and felt it leap to life, the propeller in back spinning up to a black and yellow blur. The skiff picked itself up off of the ground, wobbled a bit, and then zoomed forward, buzzing the top of her mothership before dipping through a smaller portal in the rock that led straight to open sky. Vyse gripped the wheel tight, relishing the chance to fly and tempted to spout off about being a 'leaf on the wind'.

He pulled up and pointed the boat directly at the oncoming bogey, still fairly distant in the sky, and punched the acceleration harder. Their closing velocity was nothing to sneeze at, and even though they must have gotten several eyefuls by now, the recon boat wasn't bugging out. Even if they tried to, at the speed they were going, they couldn't escape before being overtaken and boarded.

The boat actually slowed to a stop, hanging in midair as the skiff approached, climbing up and coming directly alongside. A hatch opened up, and all of the Air Pirates readied their weapons. Someone peeked out, a man with a very pretty face and long hair, in sages' robes; definitely not what they were expecting. "Don't worry," He spoke up, adjusting his thin, expensive spectacles as he looked them over, "I surrender. In fact, I want to come to your island."

Aika frowned. "What the hell. How did you find us out? Who are you?" She lowered her huge Boomerang slightly, and Vyse did likewise with his blades, but Piastol didn't take any ease, still looking like she was ready to cut his head off.

He bowed his head, and said with perfect calm, "My name is Ilchymis. As you might be able to tell, I'm from Valua. The Upper City, specifically." His speech did sound a little like a noble, or someone putting on those airs, and Vyse nodded. "It was quite a trip getting here, I thought I was going to run out of water. Or fuel. Or that the holes the brave Armada put in my ship were going to sink it." He swept a hand towards a few nasty scars that had been hidden from the Blue Rogues on approach, on the aft.

"You're running from them?" Vyse asked.

"Not entirely by choice. I thought I had proved my usefulness by developing non-magical medicines, especially antibiotics, but Her Majesty felt my talents would be better utilized in weapon development. I had a bit of a moral objection to that kind of work, but Her Majesty was firm on the point. So, of course, I had to leave."

"... Leave? Valua City?" The escape of a single scholar with a scout vessel from the Grand Fortress and Armada of Valua was too much for Aika. "I mean, I know we did it, but we had a lot of help, and a big, tough battleship. How did _you_?" Vyse would have told Aika to stop being so rude if Piastol wasn't still glaring daggers at this 'refugee'.

Ilchymis laughed, even the laugh dainty and reserved. Oh, yeah, he was definitely Upper Valuan. "No, we have a misunderstanding. I wasn't in the city at the time, but in the settlement of Southpoint in the, well, south. One of the best artificial farms in the country. The work conditions aren't very humane but... ah, to the point. Well, an Armada warship arrived with some very dire summons. They sent one of their scout ships to port to retrieve me and I managed to steal it. The ship's main guns were, thankfully, too unwieldy to hit me but their concussive shells nearly knocked me out of the sky and, as you can see, I took several hits from their secondaries before I fled from range."

Quite a tale, to be sure, and the Rogues looked to Vyse as he pondered a bit. It was possible that Galcian and the Valuans were trying to exploit their reputation as altruistic heroes, slipping in a spy with a sob-story to betray them later. On the other hand, such a plan would show more subtlety than Galcian was usually known for; if he ever found Crescent Isle out, Vyse suspected he'd send half the Valuan Armada, not a spy. "You have any skills we could use?"

Ilchymis looked delighted in his reply. "Why, of course. I have extensive herbal knowledge and can work up any variety of medicines and potions. Why, I could even set up a little shop on your island… after all, rare ingredients won't purchase themselves."

The captain didn't seem to need much convincing. He did a final conference with his crew, nodded his head at their misgivings, made sure they felt valued, and then made his decision. "Welcome aboard, then, Ilchymis. One more misfit won't make the island tip over."

If Blue Rogues celebrated for no occasion at all, the arrival of a new comrade and the defusing of a tense situation was enough to break out the good stuff, and by dinner the island had been consumed in eating, drinking, and making merry. Of course, the Valuan noble understood it wasn't really for him; even a cursory glance could tell these people all desperately needed to relax. The weight on their shoulders must have been crushing, even to people with such strength…

When Aika had broken off from the festivities to go to the front horn of the island, up the path and right where his rescue fire had been lit, a seeming lifetime ago, Vyse knew he'd better follow. He flagged over Fina, as well, who was already tipsy but moved to follow. "Hey," he said as they approached her, and she glanced back.

"Hey," Aika replied, her voice, usually so loud and lively, soft. She was in a contemplative mood, and completely sober. At first she thought about buttoning up and being miserable, but that was a stupid plan. There was nobody in the world she cared for so fondly as the boy and the girl before her, and if she couldn't talk freely to them, she might as well be dead. "You know, I can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?" Fina asked, moving closer and getting fairly cuddly. Aika didn't mind, petting her golden hair and once again admiring how she kept it so wonderful. Even if their conditions had improved by leaps and bounds, Blue Rogue living still wasn't conducive to good hair. _Just look at Vyse_.

"Just… everything. Here we are, we're adults," She ignored Fina's giggle as she recalled memories that helped up a fine point on that word, "Our own ship, crew base. Our own war to fight against the bad guys. We've busted out of the Grand Fortress, twice. We've changed the way everyone in the world thinks. Who would have known about Yafutoma if we hadn't plunged like idiots into the Rift? We've gone up against Valua, her fleets, her best admirals, and come out the winners. We took out almost all of the creatures that caused the goddamn apocalypse."

Vyse nodded. "… Yeah, we have, haven't we." What else could possibly be put into words about it? The last year had been completely insane. "Man, how much trouble has Fina pulled down on her heads. Without her we'd still be fat and happy on Pirate Isle."

Akia got the hint and was going to continue the teasing, but Fina's half-drunken puppy dog eyes were irresistible, and she changed the course of her mouth, capturing her lover in a heated kiss. If this much seriousness did occur to the fiery redhead, than by the Moons, she was going to use it for something productive.

Hans found his way over to them, but whatever he had been planning to say vanished the moment he saw Akia and Fina swapping affection and spit. The young, relatively innocent boy couldn't do anything but stare until they pulled away, spotted him, and giggled madly. Vyse rolled his eyes and tapped his foot until sense returned to the engineer. "Captain, I'd… uh… there's some things about the refits I'd…"

"David can handle it," Vyse replied. Effective delegation of responsibility was a true sign of leadership.

"Are you sure?" Hans replied numbly. "I mean, it does concern the ship's flight profile-"

"Well, David's not getting laid tonight, to my knowledge," Vyse replied, and led his lovers away, back towards the barracks. All Hans could do was feel a little professional frustration and a lot of personal envy, and start the trek towards the cargo lift leading to the meeting room.

0-0

The _Delphinus_ was one hell of a ship. That was the consensus opinion from every Blue Rogue on the island, especially the engineers. Even out-of-dock, it was a battlecruiser of the first class, a charge befitting Prince Enrique. Since its commandeer as a pirate flagship, the armor plating had been upgraded, several times, the engines were turbocharged and capable of withstanding heavy or light pressure that would wreck any other airship, the Moonstone Cannon and conventional weapons had been rendered many times more deadly, including the new Yelite Beam Weapon. The Beam wasn't cheap on fuel or power, but it was faster than the Moonstone Cannon, even weakened and old, and the device could knock vessels out of the sky. The other main bounty from the Yelite wreckage had been the addition of Old World alloys welded to critical sections of the armor, hardening it even further.

"An Armada battlecruiser couldn't do it, sir. Not two, or three. The _Delphinus_, at this point, could plow an entire squadron down into Deep Sky without a real problem." Suffice it to say, Brabham was proud in his handiwork once again. Vyse couldn't blame him. They stood together, looking over the vitalized ship. Even the paintjob was fresh, new, and without fault.

"Let's hope we won't need to test that," Vyse replied with a wide grin. His longing for a good, honest sailboat abated a bit as he looked over his command. "I love what you've done, but don't enjoy your break too much… after we recover the pressure engine plans from that Valuan base, you're going to need to install and upgrade a bit more."

"I assure you, Cap'n, I'm only looking forward to that," The old man replied, laughing hoarsely and patting the teen on the back. "And if you don't break her too rough this time, won't even take no time."

Vyse looked very thoughtful. "Well, let's see. We aren't facing any deities or ancient death machines this time, or even a fleet of ships… so, no promises, but unless we feel the need to crash the _Delphinus_ into Dangral, she should come back spotless." What made Brabham a little worried was the realization that Vyse was only mostly kidding.

The crew was boarding. The bustle of voices and the press of bodies up the ramp was really something to see. All of these people moved on his word… What an amazing rush. He made his way down towards the boarding ramp, himself, and was met halfway by Gilder.

"Setting off at once, eh, Captain?" The older pirate asked with a sly grin.

"No rest for the wicked," Vyse replied. "If we wait too long, it won't just be a plan-theft; we'll have to deal with a Valuan flagship down in Deep Sky. I'd just as soon avoid that." Gilder nodded. "I know you've got your own business to attend to, man, but why don't you come along? We could always use your skills, and it might convince David to stay home and let us handle a mission. As it is…" He motioned to the Royal Bed, as it was affectionately titled, being muscled up the ramp by the Nasrian gunnery crew, with occasional help from Don so the pilot could show off his limited muscles.

"I would, in a heartbeat," Gilder assured him, adjusting his glasses. "If I could. My business here includes efforts that are, in the words of the Protector, 'indispensable to the war effort'. I never turn up an opportunity to feel wanted, as you know. Nasr can't win this on her own, after all. Without us the whole thing'd just fall apart."

Vyse shook his head. "Fair enough." He grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. "You're always welcome on Crescent Island, Gilder. Long as you're on the sea."

"Thanks, Vyse. I'll be sure to tell your old man, if I happen to run into him on the unofficial privateer work that his crew is definitely not doing for the Kingdom of Nasr." With that, the man went back to his own craft, and Vyse to his.

The main hangar doors were already sliding open and bathing the _Delphinus_ in glorious sunlight by the time Vyse arrived on the bridge. He looked around, surveying the close friends around him, and said, "Things are looking a bit more crowded on the bridge. Good. Lawrence, take us away. Put her through her paces and then take us beneath the clouds, headed straight to Mid Ocean."The mercenary hid it well, but he was excited to feel the powerful beast under his control again, and quickly gunned the throttle for all it was worth.

The ship powered out of its resting place, fans and turbines roaring and moonstone power sources giving off vast energies to run the ship. It turned and slid downwards, past what any other sane captian would allow, until the only thing visible all around was the dark, murky depths of the empty skies. Even monsters and animals didn't venture so low. That was what made it perfect for secure travel. They started out, engines ahead full.

Three days of mostly uneventful travel later, aside from intentionally 'surfacing' to taunt Valuan patrols before vanishing beneath the clouds again, and the _Delphinus_ was approaching the large undersky island. The ultradense rock formation had more mass than the world's wind volcanism and electromagnetic could keep totally afloat, and thus it sagged down, but in a relatively stable pattern, making it a perfect place for an impenetrable base facility. Metal boxes and structures jutted out the side of the larger island, which almost looked hollowed-out and probably was. A smaller island, further down, connected to the main facility by a thin walkway.

Because there was absolutely no possibility of anyone not authorized by the Armada getting to this point, Dengral Island was pathetically defended. The pressure made it hazardous to post watches or even conduct patrol flights with heavier assets, upgrades or no, so the _Delphinus_ brazenly saddled right over the facility and disgorged its reinforced 'pressure boat', carrying the Blue Rogue strike force. They took a small crew, planning to move fast and escape before the enemy even knew they'd been hit. Vyse, Fina, Aika, and Enrique were going in, while everyone else tensely waiting aboard the ship.

The base had ventilation systems on top, and access hatches, allowing technicians to come up and work on the topside vents. The pressure made it hard to move and would cause blackout if one stayed in it too long, but the access hatch wasn't sealed at all and Vyse easily pried it open with the strength of his arms. They all eagerly went inside the hatch, and closed it behind them, forming a small airlock. Pressure systems released them from the squeezing grip of the air and they all breathed easily again.

"That's why people don't usually try that," Enrique said, hit hardest by the pressure and almost feeling nauseous again. He was much better at keeping himself together, though, and stood proudly, rapier ready in case they encountered vigilant guards inside.

Of course, they barely encountered anyone in the dull, poorly lit metal corridors. The base seemed understaffed, although that was probably for security reasons. Guards weren't roaming the halls, and the one barracks they found had half a shift of Royal Marines, asleep or playing card games. The pirates snuck right by and made their way through the base until they found the manufacturing foundries. The enormous metal canyon, falling into darkness in all sides, held Admiral DeLoco's ship, the _Chameleon_, surrounded by heavy construction gear and securely anchored to the deck.

"That thing looks finished," Vyse said, looking over the enormous flagship. Even though it was small for a Valuan battlecruiser, it was quite an intimidating thing in person. "They're probably close to being ready." He really didn't like the looks of that.

"Hey!" Aika ran ahead, towards a planning center of some kind where papers and plans were strewn everywhere. On a desk sat work orders and mechanic rosters, but Aika brushed those aside to reveal a large, beautifully intricate set of blueprints. There was no doubt that this was the prize. "Found it! The plans." The others joined her and nodded.

"Thank the Moons," Fina sighed. "For our fortune on this mission. Perhaps we will be able to slip out again without a fight." In a moment, her friends were glaring at her, and she shrunk slightly in confusion. "… What?"

"Never say 'Thank the Moons everything went well' until you're back at base," Aika told her, punching her shoulder lightly. "You're gonna jinx it."

Enrique scoffed. "Jinx? Aika, that's all superstition. You sound like some of the lower classes when they fight Air Pirates using magic. 'Bruja! Bruja!' The only thing that will bring misfortune on us if we linger here, come on." The Prince was right, of course, and the pirates took off at top speed back towards the exit.

Aboard the Chamelon, Lord Galcian was enjoying his tour of the final preparations, DeLoco acting as his personal tour guide as he showed off every upgrade and innovation. Even though the Madman Admiral earned his moniker, he was a precious asset ot the Armada, and wouldn't be thrown away any time soon if… Galcian's thoughts ground to a cold stop as he looked out the bridge viewport, onto the foundry ground floor, and saw four figures running back into the darkness. Even though they were soon out of sight, he easily identified their clothing… especially the beautiful dress of the Silvite.

"Well, well," He mused, deep voice laced with genuinely equal parts of amusement and annoyance. "What have we here… Admiral, I must cut your tour short. Tell the work crews to redouble their efforts… and if they fail, I can send my Vice Admiral to motivate them. He is not as temperate as I. I have matters to attend to."

0-0

Oh, they were so close to the exit… in fact, the ventilation access airlock was just ahead, and Vyse had just reached it when a door at the end of the long, dank hallway slid open, revealing the one person in the entire world he couldn't have been less happy to see. "Galcian!" His friends reached his side and gasped, staring at their mortal foe. The Lord of the Armada was dressed impeccably, as always, in a fine suit of gilded armor, and wielded a large engraved lance that glowed with Yellow magic enchantments. The man looked ready for a fight.

"Air Pirates. Your progress so far is impressive, honestly… everything you've accomplished against me. Of course, in the end, it all means nothing. Your story ends here." Vyse and the others drew their weapons, preparing themselves. They were all worried, but weren't impressed with the utter dread that Galcian had hoped for. Oh, well.

"Galcian…. What is Valua planning with this base?" Enrique demanded, his voice a shadow of the royal command he tried to project.

"If I'm not mistaken, the affairs of Valua are no longer your concern, Mad Prince," The mastermind gloated, gazing with contempt on the thin boy. "You were the one who threw away all of your responsibilities to run off and play with your new friends."

"You…" Enrique fumed with rage now, finding his steel. "You villain! I never abandoned my responsibility to Valua. I have no choice but to take up arms against the Empire to save our people!"

The sound of doors grinding behind them made Vyse wheel around, and, to his amazement, the situation got worse. The Ironwall Admiral, Gregorio, stood there, also heavily armored and wielding an imposing spiked tower-shield and long mace. They were trapped.

"Gregorio…" Enrique said sadly, rapier pointing towards his old father-figure. "Fate has brought us again together… to do battle."

The old man shook his head and started to walk forward, armor clanking with every imposing, slow, and steady step. "Fear not, for I do not come to fight you. Enrique." He kept on walking, and Aika and Enrique stepped back to allow the wide Admiral to pass in front, where he imposed himself between Galcian and the pirates. Everyone was shocked, but Galcian soon realized the magnitude of the situation.

"Gregorio… do you understand the consequences of your decision?" He asked. Here stood one of the few men in the world that he could even pretend to respect, an old war horse who was ever faithful to Valua. Galcian had planned to use him well in his schemes to secure his dominance, but now things had changed.

"Far better than you do yours, Lord Galcian," The Admiral replied levelly. "I have intelligence of your ultimate goals… the overthrow of the Empire and your plans to use ancient monsters to subjugate the world. The Rains of Destruction occurred once before, My Lord, and I will not allow it to happen again while I draw breath!" He took a fighting stance, shield up, imposing and ready for one final campaign. While not taking his eyes off Glacian, he addressed his Prince again. "My liege… I understand now what you did, at the Fortress, Esperanza… Only you and Vyse can save this world, now. Go."

The reaction was immediate, heroic, and predictable. "Never," The Valuan replied, shaking his head. "We will go into battle beside you, Gregorio! Together we can-"

"Die at the hands of an enemy, whose true power you can barely comprehend," Gregorio interrupted him, completely confident. Galcian watched the exchange with mixed emotions, honestly unsure now. "I will hold him, I swear it by my name as the Ironwall Admiral, but… not for long. If you delay, the military forces in this base will arrive and overpower you. We cannot risk it, so…" He swung around and smashed them sideways with his mighty shield, sending them tumbling right into the airlock's outer chamber. "GO!" With a roar, he smashed the controls, and the door slid shut, cutting off all from sight and sound.

"NO!" Enrique cried out, back on his feet and trying to bash through the thick bulkhead, to little effect. The bruises from the hit were nothing in his mind, and he began to incant by the time Vyse grabbed his shoulders.

The teen spoke lowly and deliberately. "You think we wouldn't charge back in there in a heartbeat, Enrique? I'd like nothing better… but Gregorio's right. We need to run." What a painful thing to wrench from the proud, brave son of pirates.

The Prince broke down, literally crying, tears streaming down a handsome face wrought with sorrow. Aika and Vyse grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away, but he only resisted a bit, and soon they were outside into the crushing pressure again. The ride back to the _Delphinus_ seemed to take an eternity, and as soon as the group reached the bridge, the flagship broke from the island at full turbine.

Before anyone could ask them what had happened, Vyse laid the blueprints out on the planning table and brought Enrique, still sobbing, to a seat. The Prince who cared so much about his image, so self-conscious about being mocked for weakness, the weight of the world on his shoulders, kept crying and crying until his tears ran out. After that, he just fell mute.

Vyse took his place near David at the rear of the bridge, and sat down on the edge of the first officer's bed. He let out a long sigh, turned to look the bewildered man in the eyes, and said, "Mission accomplished."


	8. Courage

**AN**: Another year goes by and all I did was get a chapter done. Looking back, though, I have to admit that this story's been a lot of fun. It's a great chance to watch myself develop as a writer over the years. Most of this chapter was written some time ago. I was in a bit of a rut around this part of the story but maybe some battle will get things flowing again.

At the rate things are going now, I should have things finished by the time I die of old age. Hopefully.

* * *

Chapter Eight- Courage

The Ironwall Admiral had never looked so at peace with the world, to Galcian's knowledge. The fight hadn't taken very long, but he knew it was enough to allow the air pirates to escape into the darkness. Every one of his strikes was enough to kill a normal man, slicing him in half, but even when he could get past Gregorio's armor, it took several hits. This wasn't a fight for magic, or guns; they fought like the old men they were, locking steel.

Gregorio even smashed him in the ribs once, the mace crashing through armor without effort. The Lord of the Armada could just tell his ribs were broken, although he'd lost feeling in his chest; ignoring the pain, he seized the opportunity for an open shot on Gregorio, and sliced his arm clean off. Blood mixed well with the off-color metal and rusty tint of the deck.

His opponent went down, and Galcian delivered a final stab into his heart for good measure. After it was over, he stood there, gasping, admiring his handiwork and trying to collect himself. He'd sustained no little injury, and finally called for assistance. Medics and marines arrived within minutes, shocked by the impossible display before them; two high Admirals, one gruesomely dead and the other wounded, his gilded armor tainted with the stain of his own blood.

"My Lord!" They rushed to his side, and within moments the glow of powerful Green magic backlit everyone as the medics got to work. They had to at least stabilize his condition before he passed out of blood loss and pain.

Galcian grabbed the nearest soldier, pulling him close with a shaking arm. "Listen to me… I want Gregorio given a proper burial as befits his rank and… his birth. If anything happens to his body, you will answer for it." The man had little reason to doubt the word of such a dread leader, and he nodded under his helmet. "Good." With little else to do, he slowly allowed his eyes to close, and despite the efforts of the healing magic, he was soon out.

The only reason Gregorio had even been on Dangral had been to attend the meeting Galcian had decided to call of the entire Admiralty. All the high commanders were here, and the meeting was supposed to happen a few hours after DeLoco's tour. Of course, that had to be postponed two days, but nobody really had a problem with that.

As Lord Galcian strode into the expansive, dim meeting room, he carried himself with perfect control, giving no indication of the pain and injury he suffered under his immaculate armor. He noted each Admiral stoically, even the empty chair meant for Gregorio. "Thank you all for coming so promptly, despite the tragic news about Admiral Gregorio."

Belleza nodded solemnly, looking genuinely mournful. "He was a good man and a better soldier." Knowing the intelligence master as well as Galcian did, he considered the possibility that those feelings were genuine. Once again he found himself regretting that it had come to battle; the troops would more easily rally around a popular commander than someone who they respected, and feared. That just meant he would need to use Belleza, who was popular for an entirely different set of reasons, to solidify the loyalty of the soldiers.

"Obviously not good enough if the Rogues brought him down," Alfonso said without a single hint that he understood the irony of that statement. Glares, both for his uppity disrespect as well as his blunt insult against most of the commanders present, gave him a moment's pause, however. Galcian could have stood to sacrifice the welp in Gregorio's place.

"We all get unlucky some time or other," Vigoro chimed in. The towering, muscular man didn't look particularly sad…. But then again, his only loyalties were to Vigoro and his affection of the moment, and his cocky grin said to the world how much he didn't care. His defeat at Yafutoma had barely dented the man, and Galcian knew he could rely on him to fight, no matter the cause or reward. "Hell, Vyse has beaten most of us.. It figures that some time he'd get tired of showing mercy."

"Luck's going to have nothing to do it with it," the mad genius DeLoco contributed, giggling to himself gleefully. "My _Chameleon_ will eat the _Delphinus_ alive and I'LL be the one who did what NONE of us could. And when I sink Vyse, I'll pull alongside and look him in the eye and he'll know, _he'll KNOW_ who killed him and all his _pathetic_ flunkies. Hahahahahaha!"

Ramirez had nothing to say; he knew the truth, of course, and couldn't care less about some old man's passing. The last officer in the room, Admiral Baker, man who led the attack on Nasr, lost it to rebel forces, and was desperately trying to bring the Red nation back under his heel to make up for his failure, was also quietly listening. An officer who'd climbed the ranks through ruthlessness and lack of principle, Galcian had a feeling Baker would feel at home with the changes he'd bring to the Armada.

He made his way towards the head of the long, ornate and bare meeting table, looking the officers over. "I know every one of you has duties to attend to, but there is urgent news to attend to. Something that will affect us all."

The supreme commander of the Armada wasn't prone to exaggeration or theatrics, and every Admiral, even Alfonso, grasped the seriousness very quickly. The air in the room, already stilted and recycled by the self-contained base, got a lot stiffer and harder to breathe. Good.

"From this day forward, the Armada will no longer be under the command of the Empress," He said, face completely serious. A stunned moment allowed the Admirals to realize that if Galcian never exaggerated, he also never made jokes, especially of such magnitude. Treason. "Those who wish to turn away from the path that I've chosen, leave now. If you will hear my plans, then stay."

The first Admiral to recover was the newest, Baker. "Lord Galcian, do you realize what you're saying?" He asked simply, leaning against the table and staring intently. "This is a capital matter."

Alfonso seemed to agree. "I can't believe it!" He declared, standing up dramatically. "Galcian, have you gone insane? Rebellion? Sedition?"

All Galcian could do was let out a little chuckle. "Fear me not, Alfonso. I've my wits about me yet. In fact, I have a clearer mental picture now than when I was shackled with my 'duty'. Now my path is my own, and everyone is free to follow me, or not, as they wish." He seemed completely unruffled by the reaction; it was definitely to be expected. Well, he'd figured Alfonso and Gregorio would give him the most trouble about his mutiny, and it looked like he was going to prove himself right once again. Compared to the Ironwall Admiral's last stand, though, this tantrum failed to impress.

"So these are your true colors? I should have known, all along!" Galcian wasn't going to argue that point. "You, who were so harsh on those who betrayed our empire… there can only be one end for traitors in our midst!" He brushed his hair back, his umbrage reaching critical mass.

Ramirez was here to pop it, however, like a balloon. "If you address Lord Galcian with one more word of that nature, worm, I will take your head from your shoulders." His deep voice was perfect in seriousness and menacing intensity, just like his eyes, and Alfonso only had to take a moment to realize the other man was fully prepared to kill.

As wonderful a gift as that would be, Galcian felt the need to intercede. Perhaps he could be cowed into submission at a later time, or just function as the perfect messenger for his plans. "Hold, Ramirez. This one's not worth the effort." Dismissing him, he turned towards the others. "And you? Stand up and be counted, for or against."

Vigoro preferred to keep his seat, but after some initial surprise didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "As long as there's a fight to be had," He confirmed, "I don't care who's pulling the strings. You haven't given me any shortages of opportunities to fight."

Belleza wasn't looking like a fox anymore, eyes turned down and barely able to speak. "Lord Galcian…" If this was genuine, it showed at least that she would follow where he led. Excellent.

DeLoco only cared about a few things in life, and politics wasn't one of them. "I've still so much more to do in this Armada," He said. "My bloody revenge, new prototypes and experiments… all the possibilities! I too will stay on with you and follow your lead."

"And you, Baker?" Galcian asked, turning towards him. A person he couldn't read was quite rare, and Baker seemed to compliment Belleza in terms of intellect and secretiveness.

After a few tense moments, Baker nodded slowly. "Very well. My troops still have accounts to settle with Nasr."

"They'll get their settlement," Galcian chuckled. "I can't reveal too much of my plans, yet, but soon the entire world will bend to me. Nasr will fall, I promise you." That was good enough for the reclusive, obsessive Admiral. "Begone, Alfonso. Run, squealing, back to the Empress and deliver your news." Alfonso entertained a moment or two of thought about fighting Galcian and Ramirez, then returned to his wits and fled the room as quickly as he could. Galcian enjoyed watching him scurry away. "Now. Let us lay forth our next course of action. DeLoco, I wish that we prepare your vessel for an immediate…"

0-0

It felt like the Blue Rogues were spending more time repairing and upgrading their ship than putting it to use against Valua. With the Valuan plans in hand, Brabham and the engineers went to work, this time conscripting most of the crew to help out. Most of the ship was already good to go, but additional reinforcements based on Valuan pressure tests had to be carried out on the superstructure, and they ripped the engines out to supercharge them again. Once again, the air pirates found themselves on the bleeding edge of exploration and science, preparing to descend to Deep Sky.

After Gregorio's sacrifice, Enrique started to spend more and more time alone, and when they returned to Crescent Island, the Prince spent most of his time at the tip of the island, staring out into the beautiful, expansive sky. He didn't push anyone away, but everyone felt like they had to give him space, even Moegi. It tore her up to watch him agonize so much about his old mentor, but what could she do? She didn't have the best people skills anyway, and if she tried to approach him, she felt she would just mess it up worse. So the situation sat and festered.

On the final night of 'relaxation', Fina, Vyse, and Aika laid together, unable to sleep for the longest time. Sometimes they talked, and other times just sat there, thoughts turning over in the cold night air. All over the island it was a time of restlessness. Much of what passed for religion amongst the air pirates was fixated, in part, on Deep Sky, and it was a place viewed with much superstition. There was no way to know what awaited them, and although this crew had faced that before, it was still disconcerting. Sleep came reluctantly.

The eleventh day broke, and the crew assembled, first for breakfast, and then down in the interior of the island to review the ship. "Don't look much different than before," Khazim remarked. "Well, except for that lovely ancient gun in the secondaries up there. Can't wait to try that out!"

Brabham talked into his radio, speaking to Marco and Hans, who were looking down at the crew from the ship's bridge. "Activate the pressure armor, kids." With the flip of a switch, the armor of the Delphinus started to move and shift. Shutters and bulkheads snapped into place over every piece of glass or structural weak point, and huge sheets of flexible plate mail extended along the length of the ship. The whole defensive scheme had a very Yafutoman visual ascetic, with the plate-armor hanging almost loosely off the hull. It didn't look very sturdy, but was designed to be able to handle crushing in Deep Sky, and when in use would fold down against the ship and restore its aerodynamic profile.

"Yes, sirree," The old man said proudly to Vyse, who was oohing and aahing with the rest of the crew. "The plating's magnetically secured to the hull with Yellow enchantment, and Blue enchantment keeps it relatively light. Dense stuff, too. This is what it looks like in standby mode; it'll give you a bit more protection than the regular plating, but it's gonna ruin your aerodynamics and probably make the ship flop around until it starts resisting pressure and folding down. Then it'll be sleek as the regular stuff and the _Delphinus_ can pull her nice turns." He nodded a bit. "Oh, and we shored up the interior stuff again, too. You could smash this thing into the ground at Deep Sky, if it's got a ground down there, a dozen times and wouldn't feel nothing."

"How do we protect the propellers?" Don asked, sidling up next to the old engineer. "Those always struck me as a critical weak point on this design. We can't just cover those in armor… right?"

"Well, we tried that," Brabham replied. "The propellers are as heavy n' thick as we can make em, but it's not going to be enough, I think. The pressure armor, when it's active, is gonna cover them up and you can take em offline. Instead, the armor is equipped to run some of its Blue and Yellow magics through the hull and provide magical lift power. That is going to eat your moonstones for breakfast, and the ship'll only be about a fifth as fast as on conventional drive, but it'll have to do until we can figure out a real solution."

"It's pretty clear the Valuans have at least one battleship that can survive in Deep Sky," Lawrence said, speaking up from behind. "If we run into it, we're going to have a real challenge on our hands. Not only will the ship move slow, and our endurance be limited, but we'll have to work entirely off the upgraded radar and sonar scopes." He indicated the dishes sticking out of the nose and command decks of the vessel, barely visible through the sea of modular plating. "If we get hit too much on our detectors, I'll be blind as a Looper."

Vyse nodded. "We've gotta figure the enemy's going to be dealing with all that too, though. Maybe we can get the gunners to concentrate on their dishes and antennae." Started down that chain of thought, he went over to Belle and Khazam to talk.

Once the pressure armor was tested a bit and then retracted, converting the ship to normal operations, the crew boarded again, hauling aboard all the supplies they could carry. When almost everyone had boarded, Enrique approached Vyse, Fina, and Aika, standing near the ramp and supervising. His eyes had large, dark circles around them and he didn't look like he'd gotten much sleep at all, thin frame moving with unusual sluggishness. "Are you alright, Enrique?" Fina asked, walking over to him and examining him a bit with Green magic. Physically, he was fine, exhaustion and stress aside.

"More or less," He replied, chuckling morosely. "I've been doing quite a lot of consideration, and come to a decision."

"Oh yeah?" Vyse asked, turning to listen.

"My friends, I've never felt more honored than to fight in your company, but this will be our last voyage together. For the time being, at least. I must return to Valua." This understandably shocked his friends, but before they could say anything, he put up a hand. "It's clear Galcian is planning to impress the bulk of Valua's military forces into some kind of revolution, and whatever he's planning can't be good, for Valua or all of Arcadia. If I can deliver this news to my mother and plead with her, we might be able to organize enough loyalists to hold Galcian at bay while you fight him."

Aika shook her head. "Enrique, I know you want to believe in your mother, but… she's never going to listen to you! She didn't listen before you signed on with air pirates and traitors. If anything, she'll just toss you in prison the moment you turn up!"

"I know she's not going to want to hear me out…" Enrique sighed deeply. "But she must, and I'll find a way. Galcian was wrong- I haven't abandoned Valua. As the Prince, it's my duty to go." His determination was evident, and Vyse didn't like it one bit, but he knew better than to try and talk him out of it.

"Any man can join us and any man can leave, as they want," Vyse said, nodding in respect to him. "I hope you can turn things around, Enrique."

The Prince smiled gratefully. "I'm glad you understand, Vyse. After our mission is complete and we've retrieved Fina's vessel, you can drop me off at Sailors' Island. I can hire, or bribe, my way into one of the few trade ships allowed through the Armada cordon. Um… I 've one more request, my friends. The Princess knows nothing of my plans… please don't tell her. I'm not sure I'd be able to face her if she knew that-"

"-You were planning to leave?" Moegi was already halfway down the ramp, looking surprisingly determined. Everyone looked over to her as she joined them on the edge of the docks. "Prince Enrique… I could tell. Not to mention I overheard just now…" Her beautiful face was turned into a mask of worry and stress, her eyes pleading with his to stay.

Enrique had been afraid of this, and he sighed deeply. "Princess, I'm sorry, but-"

"Let us chart passage for two," Moegi suggested, no longer concealing any of her face as she usually did. "I wish to go with you."

Well, that hadn't been expected. Enrique floundered for words for a few moments, face heating, but eventually his wits returned. "Princess, I appreciate your intent, but my quest is going to be a dangerous one. In returning to Valua, I risk imprisonment or… or worse. I could never ask you to follow me into such a-"

"Was not the fight with the Yellow Titan dangerous? Did we not risk our lives against Valuan steel many times? I followed you, and… even though I used to be such a weak child… you showed me how to steel my resolve and do what my duty requires, and… what I think is right." There was fire in those beautiful eyes, and she stood determined.

Fina could certainly relate to that; over their many adventures and trials, she had learned the true virtue of heroism from her beloved Vyse and Aika, as well as the entire crew. When she started out, her mission had been to defend a world she barely knew at all, but now that she had personally seen all the corners of Arcadia, seen its people, the wonderful glories and awful tragedies, she was fighting to protect that which she loved. "Enrique, please let her accompany you. We will all fear for your safety, but you can't just abandon Moegi after everything that's happened."

Vyse knew a losing battle when he saw one, at least when it came to women, and grinned, thumping the Prince on the back. "You're stuck, man. Just accept the beautiful and powerful Princess of Yafutoma's help and come on." He started up the boarding ramp, motioning his friends to follow. "There's work to be done."

0-0

Imperial survey data indicated that the best place in the entire world to enter Deep Sky was the great Vortex which had sat for countless ages under Mid Ocean. The gigantic black storm swirled endlessly, but was completely unreachable by any means until now, and locals considered it an amazing natural sight instead of a foreboding omen. Vyse's stomach was doing backflips as the _Delphinus_ came to a stop in the placid blue skies, hovering directly above the eye of the hurricane.

The bridge was packed, and tensely quiet. Everyone gazed upon the maw of the sky and wondered what would happen to them. Well, now was the time to find out. "All hands, make ready for diving," David called out, and the order was relayed across the ship. Gunners secured their batteries and sealed them for pressure, Engineering powered up the submergence engines and made the armor ready to convert, and the pirates all found something solid to hang on to. "All stations ready, Vyse!"

The young captain nodded. "Alright. Don, convert to submergence drive." The Esperanzan pilot acknowledged, flipping switches and feeling the deck shudder. Without the superconducting pressure armor, the sub drive was barely capable of keeping the _Delphinus_ steadily aloft at this altitude, but the transition was relatively smooth. "Good. Armor up! Secure for heavy pressure."

Like when the _Delphinus_ charged forth into the Dark Rift, all outside light was quickly blocked by the thick, interlocking layers of armor and security bulkheads. Internal lighting changed to an eerie green glow that mixed with the shadows in the edges of rooms and made everything look alien. The flagship was quickly secure for pressure, and now the sub drive was capable of a steady, slow descent. "Diving now," Don reported, voice soft from concentration and nerves. "Ten knots."

The proud and exotic-looking armored battle cruiser descended steadily, soon breaking through the lower cloud layers and falling further and further into darkness. They were soon in the upper edges of the vast storm system, and lightning danced to either side of the hull.

"Silvite records contain nothing at all on Deep Sky…" Fina said, staring down at her radar display, which calmly blinked and chirped as it pulsed every few seconds. "I'm scared, honestly."

"We all are," Pinata told her, the small, eccentric kid going up to her and patting her arm. "It's like descending into the afterlife. But with Captain Vyse to lead us, we'll get through, just like we got through the Rift!" Memories from that long, traumatic and dangerous hell-ride through the Dark Rift were fresh on everyone's mind, doubtless. By the mercy of the Moons, this journey would be shorter and smoother.

0-0

The Mess Hall was pretty empty by now; nobody was particularly feeling hungry. Polly was just locking up the last of her stores and making sure nothing would fall over if the ship hit turbulence when she noticed her husband come in. "Robinson," She called out. "Hey... I bet this is pretty familiar, huh?"

"In all the wrong ways," The venerable sailor replied, heading over to her and sweeping her into a tight embrace. "I just…. When we go into diving mode and head down into… I start to remember…" His miraculous rescue by his wife had turned his life around, in so many ways, but what he experienced in the Dark Rift would stay with him for the rest of his days. Polly had never gotten him to talk much about it, beyond the basic outline of being shipwrecked after days of wandering.

"I'm here, sugar," Polly whispered to him, leading him to a seat so they could both rest their legs. "Don't worry. It's not going to be like last time…" She paused, looking up at him. "If you… want to talk about it…"

Robinson had actually broken into tears at this point. He sobbed, holding close to his love and struggling for breath. "It was a damn fool thing, going in there. I would have died with all the rest…" A while more, and he got up enough courage to talk. "I told you a bit, but… when the _Sagittarius_ ran out of fuel, we set her down on one of the… islands, right?" She nodded. "Well… we was totally trapped. Never saw another ship, or moonstones, or nothin… after so long down there, we started to run out of… food."

He nodded, sobbing a bit more before gathering breath to speak. "Silva'd been messed up bad in an accident… he died after a few days…"

The only reason her husband had survived was that he was willing to do whatever it took to survive. Polly had known, or suspected, it since they rescued him. "Robinson… you ain't to blame for that… you had to choice. You never were a man to just die off without a fuss. That's one of the reasons I married you."

He was incoherent now, clinging to Polly ferociously and bawling his eyes out. Neither one of them knew, or cared, how long they spent like this, in the dark, vast Mess Hall, with only the thrum of the deck and each other for comfort.

0-0

On the bridge, the crew went into action as the ship finally approached, according to the radar, the surface of the world. They couldn't see the murky, inky blackness give way to the sickly, alien yellow soil of Arcadia's true surface, a place so foreign that the life that flourished here would be monstrous to a man's eye. Tufts of discolored plantlife were everywhere, swaying placidly to the changing currents in the heavy-pressure depths.

"Fina's ship went down a year ago, we have to assume it's been buried by now by the natural forces down here," David spoke up. "I've prepared some maps. According to what we could piece together, Fina, your ship went down somewhere… here." He indicated a glaring red X. "The Vortex, and where we are, is here. Don, I want you to head over to the estimated crash site and start a grid-pattern sweep. The _Delphinus_' sonar should pick up anything big and metal like that, but only if we're almost directly on top of it. This could take quite a while."

"If we get stretched thin we can just surface at the Vortex and try again," Vyse nodded. "So don't worry… just take it slow and make sure we're thorough. And stay on guard, I want shifts at their stations. We don't know what's lurking around down here."

The search began, and, as promised, it was slow going. Don had to keep on his wits at all times, because if he spaced out the ship could become very lost, very vast. Marco and Pinata had drawn a rough grid over the map and proceeded to check off segments of it as the sonar swept. They found nothing but dirt, rock, and an occasional misshapen skyfish.

Vyse desperately needed some way to release the tension, turning to conversation. "Man, Fina, once we find your ship and get it working again, you'll finally be able to get home! I can't believe it. You'll get to see what's higher than… well, anything. Even the _Delphinus_ couldn't get to the Moons."

"If nothing else, we'd run short of air," David chuckled. Even though the ship had been equipped with filters and pressure valves in order to make the outside air safe enough to breathe, if modern astronomers were right and the sky just kept getting thinner and thinner the higher you went, until there was just no sky left and a bunch of nothing, they'd still be choking. "How did you make it here, Fina?"

The Silvite replied, "The ship just makes a bubble around the user and recycles the air, using powerful Silver enchantment to completely purify it." She was about to explain in greater detail about her peoples' technology when the sonar began to go off. A faint contact appeared on the edge of its effective ground-range, and the _Delphinus_ was soon over it, allowing the ship to make a positive identification.

"The prize," David sighed in relief. The ship's crane was gently guided into position and scooped the surprisingly intact hull from the dirt, slowly and steadily pulling it up into the belly cargo hold. "A whole year and the thing looks better than the _Delphinus_ did after we cleared the Dark Rift. How is that possible?"

"That old Yelite ship we commandeered did pretty well, even though Yeligar beat the crap out of it," Vyse said, shrugging. "I guess the Old World just knew how to build to last. I still remember Recumen like it was yesterday. We tried our cannons on that thing, and even the Harpoon Cannon, but all we could do was make it stumble a bit. Never even made a dent." They'd certainly come far; now, their ship was fighting and winning against the ancient monsters.

Before they could even come about and head back towards the Vortex, though, disaster struck. Vyse felt more than heard a set of roaring explosions; shockwaves buffeted the _Delphinus_, nearly turning it sideways from sheer blast force. The surprised pirate warship listed badly, leaks and cracks in the armor already making it hard for the vessel move.

"It's a trap!" Don called out, spinning the wheel violently as the beginnings of his evasive actions. "Signature off the nearby plateau in the mud; the bastard was hiding in there to reduce his profile. It's gotta be DeLoco." The ship rattled dangerously again. "This beautiful baby isn't no leaf on the wind anymore, Vyse; I can't get us out of his firing arc."

This was their nightmare. Vyse knew that retreat was both the ideal tactic to deal with this, and also completely impossible. The _Delphinus_ had a speed advantage on almost anything in the sky, when it was actually in regular pressure; down here, the levitation drive barely qualified as floating. They might be able to float slightly faster than DeLoco, but it wasn't enough to let them get away before their armor was shredded and their fates sealed.

Their only choice was to kill DeLoco before he could kill them. The crews were at their action stations, per his orders, so all they had to do was recover from the shock and fight back. "Return fire! Khazim, I want indirect HE when you can load it." He waited for an acknowledgement and then said, "Belle! Start charging up our beam weapon. Don, bring us about to face him."

The _Delphinus_ came about and shuddered as a second salvo avoided doing much but rattling the armor again. In response, her heavy guns opened up, and for a moment, Deep Sky burned white.


	9. What Is Expected

Chapter Nine- What Is Expected

Don spun the wheel and felt the deck shift under him. Before now, the _Delphinus_ had never seemed to be a big, ponderous Valuan battleship; its engines were top of the line. The submergence drives, though, were a different story. They weren't vulnerable to damage in the heavy pressure of Deep Sky, but were weak compared to a conventional engine. They also ate fuel like mad, but that was probably the least of his gripes at the moment. After all, he was currently locked in a death grapple with an enemy flagship hell-bent on sending him to the bottom.

"Evasive maneuvers are really hard when I still can't clear this fucker's firing arc," The slightly plastered Esperanzan murmured to himself as he tugged with all his strength on his controls, as though that would force more performance from the ship. The hull rattled as another concussion shell burst close enough to buckle their armor plating.

"Main batteries, fire at will," David hollered down the pipe. The gunnery crews didn't really have things any easier than the pilot, though. They were working from radar signals without any personal targeting, and the conditions of Deep Sky adjusted the way a shot arced in the air.

Working with mechanical loaders, the beefy Nasrian gunners loaded shell after shell, etched with enchantments and tipped with a variety of warheads. Unfortunately, the ship hadn't stocked up on anything much past the standard direct-impact High Explosive stuff, which would require a direct hit. Khazim found himself cursing his lack of foresight, but at this stage, the only thing to do was blaze away.

The ammo started to click into place, and the huge main guns spoke out. Roaring and flashing, they tossed fire against the enemy, to a great display, but little effect. All of the shots went wild and struck darkness; certainly, none hit their mark.

"Well, at least this is our chance to rid the world of this psycho, assuming we win… Torpedoes?" Vyse looked over towards the Valuan prince and heir, shaking his head. He wasn't really disappointed in this kind of accuracy- it was to be expected. He would have preferred to hit DeLoco a lot more, though.

Enrique shook his head and cursed his useless control panel. "There would be no point to firing a salvo like this. I couldn't hit the _Chameleon_ if he got right against our nose." While the enemy had given away their general position with their surprise attack, it was still difficult to get a fix on them.

"Vyse, charging the Moonstone and Yelite cannons to fire is going to take several times longer than usual. We don't have enough power…" Fina and Aika glowed with a light separate and defiant against the green of electronic screens. They were both pouring magical energies directly into the ship around them, an exhausting task.

The captain nodded and patted both of them on the shoulder. "Do what you can, and we'll figure out the rest. Uh, somehow." Not terribly Swashbuckler of him, but he was thrown as off-guard by the attack as anybody else. The situation was not a positive one. He turned towards the map and plotted the location of the great vortex, their easiest way back up from Deep Sky. Through the sickly light and long shadows, he was able to determine that it was directly behind them. "Don, backpedal with everything you've got and get us out of here."

Their pilot nodded and began to pull back on the throttle. "You got it, boss," He replied, reaching with his free hand for his small canteen. A sip or two helped calm his nerves and focus his flying. "Leaf on the wind, shit. Brick in the air."

Desperate to keep pace with the _Delphinus_ and prevent its retreat, Admiral DeLoco's flagship broke partial cover near a large hill on the surface, giving a much clearer signature for the radar. At least forcing the enemy to move would give the gunners something to fire their next volley at, and, indeed, Vyse started seeing scattered hits among the Blue Rogues' return fire. The Valuans had evidently come to this fight loaded out with concussion and burst warheads specifically to fight in heavy pressure, but the pirates' magic warheads weren't anything to take lightly, and Naomi was pleased to report a few nasty spells on the enemy that helped slow their movement and short out their electronics.

The air between the two combatants lit up every so often as explosions ignited and revealed the world beneath the clouds. Neither side could see the strange and often horrifying things that the gunfire revealed, though, trapped in their warships and hunkered down to fight. They traded several more salvoes of cannon fire, and although the _Delphinus_ groaned and rumbled, it bore up well against the assault.

"We can outlast this guy, if nothing else," Vyse said, some confidence returning to his voice. "As many times as this ship's been upgraded, we know it can take a pounding and keep going." Of course, something like a pressure collapse would, as he understood it, be a pretty sudden thing. Either the superstructure could hold up as designed, or it would crumble inwards and, consequentially, crush the crew. It was incredibly disconcerting to think that the entire ship could cave in upon him at any particular moment it felt like.

As though he didn't have enough to worry about, a beam of brilliant green energy scythed through the air just to the starboard of the pirate ship, sheering and melting layers of armor in an instant and sending the ship tumbling towards port. Many of the crew aboard were tossed about by the sudden force, once again taken by surprise thanks to the mad admiral they faced. "What was that?" Don called out in something approaching panic as he struggled to regain control of the helm and even out the ship.

Everybody took hold of something for support and the girls interrupted their continuous casting, which caused the lights and instrument screens to flicker for a moment. The bridge was already claustrophobic enough in the grim darkness, but threatening the loss of their last lights was terrifying. The crew always went into battles with the possibility that they could die, but their dark surroundings seemed to impress a seriousness about this encounter.

"Looks familiar enough to me," David grumbled, shaking his head to clear it. "And it looks like we've got more trouble on our hands, Vyse. He's even managed to copy our Moonstone Cannon."

Vyse nodded. Well, the ship had originally come from a Valuan shipyard, even though its builders would scarcely recognize it anymore, and nobody could deny DeLoco's brilliance; only his sanity and ethics. "Looks like. Don, zag and zig like I would be if I was as drunk as you." They had to avoid a direct hit from that Moonstone Cannon or their pirate ship might find itself gutted. For all the armor plating ever did for enemies on the receiving end, Vyse wasn't confident in their ability to take that kind of hit. That meant that the sooner DeLoco's _Chameleon_ was destroyed, the better.

'_Moons, I bet the son of a bitch would be chatting up a storm, too_,' He thought to himself. Their ship-to-ship radio was staying firmly off until the bastard was sunk; he'd had enough of the Admiral's ramblings in person the last time. '_Mwahahah! Prepare to feel the wrath of my upgraded moonstone cannon, you foolishly foolish fools_!'

Aika and Fina resumed their magical infusions, but Vyse's usual knockout punch, and his new, if ancient, surprise, were still out of his reach for the moment. He felt a sickening realization that, for all of his confidence, his tactics had become far too reliant on such tools. '_Dad would have chewed me out good for that kind of mistake_.'

Both airships reached the edges of the gigantic storm above them, and began their ascent, careful to match each others' course and speed. They seemed almost linked together as dance partners, even as their guns furiously flailed away. At least DeLoco seemed to be experiencing power management issues, as well; he didn't hit the Blue Rogues with a second dose of his deadly energy cannon before they entered the eye of the swirling storm.

To Khazim's dismay, one of their main radar cones cracked and split apart against a direct impact from a Valuan shell. If both vessels had been wildly maneuvering but the gunners had retained low visibility, then the _Delphinus_ would never have landed another hit; as it was, their guns were zeroed in on the general area the enemy was in.

Another blow came to Vyse's confidence when he heard a loud metallic groaning, punctuated by a loud snap. "Oh, Moons…" Fina murmured under her breath. "The pressure and the concussion shells…"

David leaned forward in his bed, letting out a sharp breath as the deck shook once again. "Bastard doesn't even need to hit us to crack our armor open. I'm not sure she'll hold until we surface from the storm, Vyse." It was clear that, although several debuff spells had hit the enemy, the pirates were taking more real damage than they were dishing out. "The plating was designed to resist a constant level of pressure, not sudden spikes… we're well past specifications on this one."

A groan punctuated the vice captain's last statement and knotted Vyse's stomach up tightly. "Fina, if I only wanted to fire the Yelite cannon, could we do that now?"

"Yes," She replied, voice strained with effort. "It may not have maximum effectiveness against the enemy's armor, though. The weapon has an EMP property alongside its regular damage."

He grinned through his stress, his face contorting into something more than a little menacing. "Great. I've got a crazy plan. Don, I want us moving all ahead full. Put every bit you can give me into this, and ram the bastard." The helmsman turned to look at his captain in surprise. "Yeah, I know. But being in the eye of the storm heavily limits his options for maneuver. He's going to need to take it or leap out into the great storm and dash his ship." Neither combatant could survive long outside the relative calm of the eye, especially in deep pressure. It was a death sentence.

"That also means that if he does dodge us on this, we could go careening right out of the eye ourselves," Aika objected, looking up momentarily from her efforts.

"True. I guess it's all up to you, then, Don." The Esperanzan locked eyes with him for a moment. "If we keep letting him hit us with those damn concussion rounds, we might not make it anyway. And if we do get into open sky, that Moonstone Cannon of his is a grave threat. Let's end it now." While the rest of the bridge was in shock, Don slowly nodded and turned back towards his controls, gunning the throttle and hearing the submergence drive rumble in response.

Vyse moved to one of the tubes on the central console. "All hands, brace for ramming. As soon as we hit, I want every gun on this ship firing." Don quickly figured out what his captain's plan was; he was going to use the heavily armored prow of the _Delphinus_ like a drill, except they were going to be drilling armor, not ice, this time. Even a partially successful ram would split the enemy open and reveal their vulnerable internals. Their guns, firing point-blank, couldn't fail to hit something important.

DeLoco saw the move coming as the _Delphinus_ heaved forward, straight towards him with barely any energy spent on dodging. Instead of moving to evade, he waited, and completed the charging for his cannon. Without visual cues, the _Chameleon_'s shifting armor couldn't serve as a warning sign, and the Blue Rogues weren't able to tell what was coming.

When the Valuans had lined up and sighted in, they opened fire, first with their conventional guns, followed by the copied Moonstone Cannon. Fortunately for the pirates, however, the bursting shells hitting point-blank forced the _Delphinus_ off-course for a moment, its weakened engines unable to compensate and sending it careening sideways just as the beam fired, causing it to miss completely. Even Don was barely able to figure out what they'd just avoided, and let out a whoop as he spun the wheel and brought them back on track.

With little room left, the _Chameleon_ took the brunt of the impact, going nose-to-nose with its foe. Armor plate met and clashed together with a terrible bang, the sheer force tossing both crews to the deck and filling their ears with rending metal.

Vyse smashed the back of his head against the floor and nearly blacked out immediately, flooded with pain and groaning weakly. He slowly started to move, however, forcing himself to look up and see the rest of the bridge crew. Most were down, and David had been thrown from his bed and laid crumpled up against the wall. The consoles all flickered and then, suddenly, plunged him into a darkness so absolute he couldn't see his eyepatch.

He only knew that he hadn't passed out because he heard, through his ringing ears, the superstructure of his ship crying out in agony. A lifetime of instincts aboard ships told him, on a primal level, that if he laid down and gave into his fatigue now, he would never reawaken, and his ship would be destroyed utterly. Through sheer determination, he forced his arms and legs to move, shambling to his feet even though the ground continued to move and shake.

From his memory, he knew where Aika and Fina and their controls were, roughly, and he started in that direction, putting one foot in front of the other and making slow progress. It seemed to take forever, but eventually, he hit his foot against something unexpected. It was probably a body, possibly one of his two lovers, but he couldn't tell even as he collapsed over it and hit his hands on the console. Nothing in the world mattered as much as reaching up and finding one specific lever.

Hr grabbed, and pulled downwards, struggling for a moment with the object and then falling back on his rear as he heard a set of loud clicks. '_Yelite Cannon, fire_,' he thought dully, his energy spent even as he felt movement against his legs and then heard a great hissing noise.

His ship had exhausted every ounce of its energy upon the attack, though, and moments after he had fired, to an effect he couldn't know, the ground fell out from under him.

0-0

The _Chameleon_'s internal decks, already collapsing from heavy pressure, were smashed with an incredibly powerful electromagnetic pulse that caused every electronic device aboard the ship, including her submergence engines, to simultaneously explode and flash-cooked most of the crew in the twinkling of an eye. None of the other pirate guns spoke out, their operators down and stunned or passed out, but that one devastating hit was enough to end the fight.

The crippled and lifeless flagship, full of a lifetime's genius and madness and staffed with one of the proudest crews in the Valuan Armada, fell as gravity demanded it must even as its decks continued to crumple up and metal rolled upon metal, flatting everything in between. The Admiral himself died, alongside his men, crushed horribly by the power of an entire world.

Delivering such a blow with its transplanted ancient technology was too much for the _Delphinus_, however. Even as the two ships came apart, they fell together. The submergence drives aboard Enrique's stolen flagship could not sustain ton after ton of metal, crew, and cargo anymore, leaving them in freefall as they plummeted downwards at terminal velocity.

Most of those who had weathered the impact of the collision were taken by surprise by this second assault. Young and fit sailors as well as older, weaker personnel were tossed asunder like so many ragdolls. Down in Engineering, those who would be capable of actually repairing the engine and stopping the descent were all down and out, except for the Yafutoman builder, Kirala. She had avoided hitting her head, although she felt her left ankle twist heavily when she hit the deck for the second time, and when the lights began to flicker she tried to spring into action.

"Oh shit, main power's offline!" Emergency backups were failing to cut in, too; only a few dull last-resort lights illuminated the great cavernous engine room. "Guys! Hans! Where are you? We need to…" She trailed off, and heard nothing in reply except groaning and a murmured curse. Well, and the walls groaning ominously.

She hadn't grown up as a shiphandler, although Hans had been giving her some training in the machinery and components; she could tell they were falling, fast, but couldn't even estimate how long they had to effect repairs on whatever went wrong. It was obviously not going to be very long, though. If Hans was down, their best talent with the engines was out of commission. "Please don't tell me I have to get up in those huge turbines…"

With no other option, she got to her feet, and started walking, every step on her left foot a fresh agony to shoot through her. It was bearing her weight, though, even though the deck wouldn't quite stay still under her, and she made it over to the console Hans had fallen nearby. She could just barely make out his prone form from a nearby lamp, and reached out towards him as soon as he was close enough. "Hans! Shit, Hans!" She screamed, panicking and shaking him with all of her considerable strength. The young boy did, after a moment, begin to stir, though.

"Ow," He replied to her, getting up much slower and leaning against the builder. "What… the lights… oh. Oh, oh. Oh shit."

Kirala nodded. "Yeah, oh shit is right. We need to get the sub drive online, now." She motioned in the general direction of the innovative technology, which revealed itself with occasional sparks and lightning dancing across its great bulbous shielding. "Power must have cut out when we, fucking shot that Yelite gun."

Hans groaned, and not just in pain at his bruised shoulder and back. That ancient gun had guzzled more power than even he had predicted; he'd given the green light to fire, though. During tests, this had never happened, but it had never occurred to him to test the gun while under combat maneuvers with the sub drive. The combination of reduced output and greedy ancient tech was enough to really screw his ship over. That also meant that, in a way, this was all his fault. "Yeah. We need to kick in the auxiliary before we hit the ground."

"How?" She asked, desperately. Each second that ticked by, she imagined, could be their last. The groaning and buckling armor and superstructure were certainly a problem, as well, but those noises had almost sunk into the background compared to this. If they didn't fix this problem, now, it was all over.

"Manual startup. Shovel some stones into the furnace. Go." Using the raw, inefficient burning of a few moonstones, he could kick the secondary generator to life and thus revive the submergence engine. The generator was full of fuel already and could definitely last long enough to limp out of Deep Sky and kick in the main drives. He waited at his controls, glad that the designs still incorporated physical backups for critical functions, since all of the electronic panels and keyboards were obviously dead.

Kirala fumbled for a nearby shovel and got a single good load of green moonstones, a suboptimal material for engine use but certainly good enough for the task. She dumped them into the furnace, hit the button, and watched the door slam shut even as countless, mysterious energies began to release.

The moment Hans had power, he slammed the emergency valves and levers, reciting a few classic engineer prayers and engineer curses he'd learned despite the efforts of his gentle, reasonable father. After a tense second, the lights came back on, partially blinding him. He did hear the turbines start again, though, a whisper of life for them all. "We're in business! Sub engine, all stop!" One of the other engineers, on her feet after the first crisis was resolved, hit the engineering backup controls and cut in the submergence engine.

Stopping the ship all at once was just as bad as allowing it to slam into the surface, but they could slowly work against their fall until they'd stabilized things. Hans counted his heartbeats as the ground stopped shaking and, far too slowly, the _Delphinus_ regained her balance and caught herself mid-air. Hans laughed and smacked the control panel with his wrench. "What a fucking ship!"

"All stop confirmed, sir," The engineering assistant said, reaching for a few more valves. "Where are we?"

"We're not on the ground," Kirala said. "That's good enough for me." A part of her didn't even want to know how close they'd all come to death. A set of shockwaves rocked the ship, however, but they weren't powerful enough to be coming from the interior or the armor plate. If they were close enough to feel the _Chameleon_'s ammunition and engines going up, then she definitely didn't want to know. "Thank the Moons."

0-0

Naomi bent over and examined Vyse, first checking for obvious bleeding and then bruising. He was still conscious, barely, but looked like he'd just gone fifteen rounds with a monster, gasping heavily and still laying atop Fina. "We're alright?" He asked, slurring his words.

"Yeah, Captain," She replied, grinning. "I didn't think much of your plan. Still don't. But we're all here in more or less one piece. Guess that means we win." Vyse laughed a bit, and the Yafutoman soldier checked his lovers, next. To her relief, neither seemed to be too badly injured, although both were out cold. She pulled a small Sacri crystal from her pouch and shattered it near the two of them, watching the healing light scatter into both and begin to correct any damage.

She got to her feet, heavily favoring her right leg, and got herself over to David, who she'd already put back in his bed. He had made it through the trial awake, but his heart was beating too fast and she'd ended up having to put him under Slipa, one of the few spells she knew, being a devoted soldier of Yafutoma. She reached out and brushed his hair from his eyes. As the crewman most often charged with seeing to his needs and taking care of the ornery cripple, she'd grown quite attached to him. '_At least his heart didn't explode. Doc will be happy to hear that._'

There was still work to do, unfortunately, and she slowly abandoned him after making sure he was laying comfortably, heading back over to the control panel. "Engineering, this is the Bridge. We're not sure what happened but good work with the power. That was close." Leaning against the console, she let out a long sigh. "Too close." Most of the bridge crew was still down, but Don, of all people, was up and more or less about. He was busily helping David back into his bed.

After that, the helmsman made his way over to a different talking-tube. "Doc, you up? We've got people hurt on the Bridge. Ha, probably got people hurt everywhere." He supposed this was probably better than being sunk by DeLoco's cannons and dying on the surface. Probably.

"He's resting for now," Piastol replied, her voice unusually quiet. "I'm not injured badly enough to need help, though. I can bring everybody into medical and get them treated." At the very least, she was competent to perform first aid and check if somebody would need serious healing that went beyond a simple Green magic spell.

"Yeah, go for it. I think Vyse and Aika might have hit their heads. Fina and Marco are out too, but they're all breathing." The pilot glanced over at Enrique, who was casting what simple medical spells he knew to help with everybody's bumps and bruises. It looked like the dainty prince had actually gotten through the ordeal better than most of the others.

The ship shivered yet again and the drunkard winced. "I think I'd better get us out of here. I'm amazed this big girl is still afloat." He rapped his controls with a fist and then reached for the steering wheel and throttle. "Never let us down yet." Gingerly, he started climbing again, pouring on the power a little at a time and stopping at barely thirty percent of full.

His thoughts quickly turned, yet again, to the Great Rift. He hadn't even been a part of the crew when they'd plunged into that abyss, but he had gone through more than a few crazy missions in his life near it. Most Esperanzans knew about what it was like in there, even though few ever returned. '_It seems like this is much tougher on the ship, though. Add in the damage from our scrap... we definitely couldn't cruise for days. I think we might have broken her back already_.' Every mission that the Blue Rogues went through seemed to put the _Delphinus_ back in the yard for repair. '_And we keep getting lucky_.'

Now that the immediate emergencies had passed, the noises that his ship was making were grating a lot more on his mind. He wanted to gun the throttle and get out as quickly as possible, but that would only put dangerous stress on the airframe as well as the engine. It seemed to take forever before the pressure started to lighten, and the ship slowly emerged from Hell.

When they did finally emerge from the enormous vortex, sliding upwards, the ship's groaning subsided, although Don could occasionally hear worrying noises if he concentrated. The danger of sudden collapse was still gone, and he hit the controls to release submergence mode. The secondary sheets of armor around the hull and critical systems started to retract, revealing regular hull, although it showed dozens of spider web fractures.

Most heartening was the sounds coming from Engineering, where the main engines finally sprang to life and gave Don some of the power he was used to. Now the _Delphinus_ didn't seem to cling barely to its altitude; even with the frame damage, her pilot could move about more or less normally. He did make sure to leave a little bit of throttle in reserve for caution's sake as he turned the ship and consulted his maps. "Thank the Moons, we're finally out of it."

Many of the crew who weren't too badly hurt quickly took the opportunity to go up to the top deck and breathe in some fresh air. The sun was setting, bathing the sky and the clouds in red and orange hues. The beauty of nature looked like a painting to tired eyes. Familiar sights, such as the great reefs of rocks suspended in the sky and islands dotting the area, were also welcome.

Even Enrique, most of his sickness gone through sheer stubbornness, went out upon the deck and leaned against the railing. "Princess, I'm glad to see you weren't hurt," He said to Moegi, who turned towards him and bowed deeply. "What a final mission! I've never felt more afraid… or alive."

She nodded and met his eyes. "Battling against the Armada out here is a worthy enterprise, but the time has come for you to return home. Perhaps together, we can show your mother that it is possible for Valua to work together with the other nations." She reached for his hands and held them, feeling her face warm up quickly.

"Yes, of course. I… I am glad you wish to accompany me. It will be dangerous, but having you with me, I think…" He coughed and looked away for a moment, out towards the open skies. "I hope we can end this."

Although she hated to mention it, especially during such a beautiful moment, she couldn't help but wonder something. "Even so, your mother may not listen to us. What will you do then, Enrique-san?" She remembered the fight for her homeland well, when Valuan aggression and traitors within her own people nearly put them all to death. An alarming number of people had supported the usurper and his son over their rightful rulers, and there had been blood in the streets before the issue was settled. She was now all too familiar with the mentality of a civil war, often the most brutal of conflict.

The prince knew where she was headed with this, and shook his head. "Oh, she must! We won't let it come to that, I swear it on my honor." If the matter couldn't be solved without violence, would he take arms against his own mother? It was such a horrible thought that he simply refused to contemplate the possibility, and instead focused everything on what hope he had left.

They spent some time in silence, watching the sun until it had gone down behind a reef barrier and the sky began to darken. Finally, she spoke up. "Enrique-san?"

"Hm?"

When he turned to look at her again, she leaned in, blushing heavily, and kissed him. It was an impulsive and outgoing act, especially given her upbringing, but the day's battle had taught her to appreciate each day she was alive and to seize a good moment. Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't terribly embarrassed, and soon she fled, back into the interior of the battleship, and leaving one very stunned boy.

Meanwhile, Don was still at his controls, conversing with Hans and Kirala, who had made their way up to the command deck. "All my guys who can still work are out canvassing the ship and checking out how bad it is," The lead engineer said gravely. "By the time Vyse or David are back in the action, we'll know. I think we can assume 'real bad', though. She's making noises I've never heard out of her."

"You were down there, I haven't been yet… anybody really hurt?" Head trauma was some of the most serious blunt injury a person could sustain, but both Aika and Vyse were young and extremely lively. The _Delphinus_ had been carrying civilians as well, including people like Osman the merchant and Kirala's younger sister, one of their chefs.

Kirala shook her head. "Well. A lot of people passed out, a few broken bones. My sister made it through alright, she's a lot tougher than anyone would think." A smile crossed her face. "I should be a lot more scared from all that shit, but everyone made it out alive this time." That touched upon memories of the crewman who had died in the fight against Yeligar, Tikatika, and her face settled back into a frown. "Thank the Moons."

The helmsman turned towards his controls instead of continuing the conversation. Better, in his experience, to move on, at least for now. "I wasn't trained in the mechanical stuff but I can tell we're going to need to put in. According to our charts, we can be at Sailors' Island, oh, by midnight, even if we don't push it." They could avoid many of the hazards, such as storms, wind currents, and monsters, simply by flying higher or lower until they reached different cloud layers. That wouldn't put too much more stress on the ship, hopefully. "I guess I'm in charge until somebody more sober wakes up, so that's where we're headed. I'll get us to cruising speed."

"Good idea. Kirala, go ahead and take off if you want. I'll get back down to the engine room and make sure everything's okay." She nodded and patted Hans on the shoulder before he took his leave of the bridge.

He walked down the stairs and through the metal hallways, noticing a variety of cracks and bends in the support pillars as well as the walls. It really was amazing to him, to think of how much the ship had gone through; constant battles and refits, knocked down and picked back up time after time. She was his, and he felt nothing but pride in her, running his hand along the divots and cracks as he walked. "Yeah, good job," He murmured softly, as though in reverence.

He passed Lawrence, on his way up to the bridge, and nodded to him respectfully. The mercenary nodded back, and Hans found his eyes focusing upon the layers of white bandaging over his left arm. He'd always found the other pilot much more intimidating than Don, however, and so he kept to himself and continued on his way through the ship.

As soon as Lawrence made it past the hatch and into the Bridge, he took a look around, and only saw two people on watch. Pinata the kid, who had watched the entire fight from the bridge and avoided so much as a bruise, thanks to his odd little flying hat invention, was still just chilling out, enjoying a candy bar as he respectfully watched Dan work the controls. The older pilot only took his hands off the wheel to indulge in another sip of his good stuff, to help him come down off of all the excitement and settle in for the long ride overnight.

He noticed his counterpart, however, and turned to look at him. "Damn! What happened to you, man?"

"Drunk driver," Lawrence replied sardonically, walking over to the forward control panel. "You know, some days, I regret joining up with this quest. We were all nearly killed by that ramming maneuver."

"Yeah, I suppose we were," Don replied, chuckling. He seemed more sober than he really had any right to be. "It's weird. Sometimes I forget that's what the stakes are out here. Vyse and the others, those kids, they've all got this life about them. That boy's been across the world and never regretted any of it, the good or the bad."

The drunkard knew a thing or two about regret, after the years he'd spent at Esperanza watching good kids, like Vyse, toss themselves to their deaths. Even then, when he'd sworn off flying, he knew he regretted not taking to the skies again. Regret was a terrible feeling, especially given that it didn't empower you to change what happened; only to feel bad about it later.

"Well, you had your chance to jump ship, sell us out, and live like a king, back on Yafutoma," He continued, taking another swig. "No use crying about it now, right? Besides, if you do make it through these trials, you'll have some great stories to tell your kids about."

The mercenary shrugged. "Never really looked at it like that before." The very thought of settling down on some chunk of rock with a nice lady and building a family was almost amusing to him. "I think I'd have to get pretty old before that happens." Don laughed, his old belly shaking as he contemplated the cold, distant sell-sword living somewhere like Pirate Isle or maybe even, Moons forbid, a reputable village. "You were on shift for hours, before DeLoco jumped us. Go on back and get some rest. I can get us to Sailors' Isle."

Don looked over at his bandaged arm. "You sure, man? This wheel hasn't been getting more responsive, and you'll only have the one arm to teach it who's boss."

"Still do a better job than you can," Lawrence replied, hooking his good thumb back toward the hatch. Don laughed again and relinquished the controls. "I always hate being off-watch when the shit comes down, anyway. Maybe we'll get jumped again."

"Eh. I've had enough excitement for one day." Don only stumbled a few times as he left, taking a few more swigs of his canteen before realizing, in disappointment, that it was now empty. He was just glad he'd brought that thing instead of what he'd been doing before, just carrying a big old glass bottle around. Being tumbled around with that in his coat wouldn't have made the experience any more pleasant.

The mercenary settled in, as he'd done so many times before, for the lengthy voyage to a friendly port. For having just been through Hell, the ship was holding up fine, in his professional opinion. Even the crackling and shuddering was getting less frequent.

0-0

Slowly returning to consciousness, Vyse let out a soft groan. With his eyes still squeezed shut and his body feeling like pure lead, he heard voices around him. There weren't many, just a few, and with a bit of concentration he recognized Aika and Fina amongst them, along with Piastol. After he remembered that she had switched sides and become a valuable part of his crew, some time ago, that realization was much less alarming to him. Oh, his bed was so wonderfully soft, and he felt the urge to sleep forever.

He felt something press against his chest, though, and a half a scarecrow's worth of flaming red hair whapped him right in the face, bristles rubbing against his skin and provoking weak laughter. He coughed, desperate to spit it out from his mouth, though, and Aika backed up a bit, still hovering over him. "Well, he's still breathing. Awake, even."

When he woke up, his vision was thus taken up entirely by her pale face, inches above his own. She really had grown more beautiful. Back on Pirate Isle, thinking such things were pretty much off-limits, but he'd often found himself waking up and thinking that lately. "Hey, Aika," He murmured, so quietly that only she heard his voice. She looked almost on the edge of tears, but her face was split in a huge grin.

"Hey, Vyse. You overslept." She adjusted herself, sitting on the bed and leaning back against him. "Had us worried." She motioned past his field of view and Fina joined her, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching out to gently touch his forehead, pushing aside wild, unkempt hair. If Aika was pale, Fina nearly looked like a ghost, especially with her white dress. That dress, like all good dresses, did little to conceal her assets, though, which was a reason he'd always liked it.

"Oh. Sorry." He slowly pulled himself up until he was sitting rather than laying, steadied by both of his lovers. "Uh. My head still hurts." He watched both of them share a glance.

"That's to be expected," The former Angel of Death's voice pierced their comfortable little bonding time, and he slowly turned his head to regard her. She wore a lab coat that seemed to fit ill on her tall, lanky frame, doubtless borrowed from Doc's collection. She hadn't necessarily abandoned the art of dealing death, but now she had tempered that, like Silver magic itself, with the giving of life. Or, at least, healing. "Pain isn't really a positive sign, but it's preferable to having no feeling at all. Try to move your limbs, Vyse."

He obeyed, moving his arms again. They tingled a little but that was relatively familiar to anybody who'd had a limb go to sleep before. His legs moved as well, shifting against Aika's ample rear and provoking a giggle. They felt weirder, but still listened to him. "All four, reporting in." Even he could tell that, in the back of his mind, he was still a little loopy.

"Good signs," Piastol nodded to herself and reached for a notepad. "I've just gotten a lot of experience with blunt injuries, trauma, and specifically head trauma. Doc isn't feeling up to much helping today, he took a bad spill himself."

"He should be fine, though," Fina assured Vyse. "With time, and magic, most wounds can mend. Piastol, you've done a very good job helping the crew after that fight." Under the Silvite's earnest praise, the former merc blushed a little and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I've still got a lot of atoning to do, I suppose." She shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't feel like a burden, though. Joining your crew was the best thing for me, and now, I've got a family. A literal one, too." She nodded over towards the corner, where Maria was playing mutely with a doll. She still didn't seem to speak much, but just having her around had been great for morale. Vyse was relieved to see her unharmed, as well.

"Uh." He blanked for a moment and thought he'd like to go back to sleep, but something told him that he'd already slept quite enough. "So. How long was I out, then?"

The room was silent for a beat and Aika shook her head. "If we were still with your dad, he would have kicked your ass across the length of the ship. And then made you mop it all clean. We've already made it to Sailors' Island, and it'll be daybreak soon." Now that he thought about it, the deck was completely still, which only tended to happen when the _Delphinus_ had set down somewhere. He could faintly hear banging as well as electrical noises, however. "We can get the ship patched up well enough to make it back home. Brabham is going to pitch a fit at what we've put her through this time."

"I'm just glad you didn't sleep longer, Vyse." Fina frowned slightly. "Everybody else has already been through treatment and the only others who are still sleeping are, well…" She looked up and towards a few of the other beds in the medical bay. "Khazim and a few of his gunners. When the ship fell, the ammunition racks suffered a malfunction. They helped shield Belle's girls from being badly hurt." Vyse chuckled. What a bombast; knowing Khazim was like meeting a character from the heroic stories pirate kids were told as children. Or maybe a living cannon.

"And Don," Aika chimed in, motioning towards the bed nearest to the door. "Although he's not really hurt so much as drunk. Really, really damn drunk. He stumbled in here after getting us out of that whole mess and told Piastol he couldn't find his room, and decided to take a nap here instead." More laughter from both of the girls. "I can't imagine how he handles the wheel so well when he gets like that."

"I allocated a few healing spells to his liver," Piastol chimed in, mood serious as usual. "I never learned how old that man is but it's not dying in an air battle that he has to worry about. That much is certain."

"So we all made it, more or less, in one piece." The girls nodded and he let out a sigh. "I'm glad. I probably should have come up with a smarter plan, but eh. My dad used to tell me 'any one you walk away from is a win'. So, we win." He actually heard his stomach rumble and groaned. "Oh, man, I regret putting off dinner when we found your ship, Fina."

Aika nodded. "We ended up sleeping in here, so we haven't had much to eat, either. Piastol, have you actually slept yet at all?"

She shrugged in response. "A nap here or there. Sorting everybody out was busy work. I'll probably indulge in a longer sleep after breakfast." One could visit the ship's mess at any hour and probably find somebody there, or at least the ingredients to fix one's self a sandwich, but Polly liked to serve breakfast early most days.

"Yet another person I'm glad we've recruited. If I'm okay to walk, let's all go down and see our chef about some food." Aika shifted out of the way and Fina stood up, getting behind Vyse and gently helping him to his feet. He wobbled a few times, but with some of his seemingly boundless willpower , he was standing again, stretching a bit and feeling sore muscles ache. "Nnngh."

The teenage captain remembered a time, not necessarily fondly, when he'd get lost trying to find places like the medical bay or the mess in such a large and seemingly labyrinthine ship. By now, though, it was as natural as breathing to find his way, leading the others, mainly so they could catch him if he fell. He felt his energy returning slowly to him, however, and had no problems reaching the ornate mess hall. Some of the fancy paintings on the walls had fallen in all the tumult, but otherwise the place looked remarkably intact. A fine chandelier threw plenty of light onto the large space, and he heard noises from the kitchen as well as a few glasses and plates tinkling from the tables.

"Hey, Vyse," Luke called out, and Vyse turned to see one of his oldest friends, a former raider under his father's command. "Glad to see you on your feet." Rodgers, seemingly inseparable from him now, was content to dig into her bowl in a feeding frenzy, waving to him with one hand.

"Thanks," He replied, stopping for a moment. "It's going to take a lot more than a bump on the head to get me down! … Much." He sidled up to the bar at the front of the mess but couldn't see anybody right away. "Morning, Polly," He called out.

Instead of Polly, Urala stuck her head out from behind the corner and bowed slightly. "Good morning, Captain, Aika-san, Fina-san, Piastol-san. Polly-sama is on the island now, I believe she took Robinson to see her old tavern." Ah, now memories of her recruitment were flooding back to him. He remembered specifically that one of the reasons Polly joined up was to find Robinson, and, against all the odds, she actually had, rescuing him from a miserable, shipwrecked experience. She left her only daughter in charge of running the place while she was out. '_One day, I'll find your father, Anna, and bring him back to show you what a fine daughter he has._'

"Good for them," Vyse nodded approvingly. "I only wish we could have made such a huge detour sooner, but Polly and Robinson threatened to mutiny if I did that." He was, despite it all, still quite hungry, however. "I hope we can still get something for breakfast, though?"

"Ah, of course." Urala giggled, bowed again, and retreated back into the kitchen. "I've been learning from Polly-sama all this time. I'll have something right up for you!"

They settled in beside their old pirate friends, and when Piastol moved to take her own table, Aika shook her head and pulled her along. Everybody still had a lot to talk about,, although, on the captain's orders, they avoided business talk until all the food had been finished. Especially, Enrique's departure as a subject was off-limits, except when Luke reported what Marco may or may not have seen the royal couple do on the deck, or amidships later. Kids tended to see a lot more than people expected.

"Back on the _Albatross_, Dad always frowned on 'fraternization'," Vyse mused, mouth still half-full. "Then again, most of the guys had wives back in the village, and Maribel was spoken for, so anything that did go on was of a purely masculine nature." Aika and Luke were in an uproar as they laughed. "Pretty sure the deckhand was, well." He glanced over at Fina. Bawdy humor aside, Air Pirates were pretty open with such matters, and he certainly didn't want to give the wrong impression about homosexuality. "Ahem. Never mind that. I'd say conditions aboard this ship are way different. Well, for one thing, I can't really have a 'no shacking up' rule."

Luke laughed. "Sure you could. You're the captain! Haven't you learned anything from the Valuans all this time, Vyse? Being in authority means you get to make the rules and then break them, too."

"I'd have a mutiny out of sheer envy if I did that," Vyse said, and Rodgers snorted into her bowl, nearly inhaling some noodles. "Not just one, but two of the finest ladies aboard the ship? I'd get left on that island we found near Esperanza, the one Domingo was telling us about earlier."

Aika paused after taking a long drink of loqua. "Come to think of it, Domingo mentioned he'd been cataloguing a lot of the weird stuff we've found in our voyages. He says it'll be worth a small fortune to the Sailors' Guild here when he turned it all in." Everyone agreed to toast to making a good profit. Pirates at heart, the lot of them, even Piastol now.

Talk of healthy profits seemed to naturally draw Osman to the mess hall, and sure enough, she quickly appeared. "Good morning," She called out to everybody, uncharacteristically happy. Ever since she'd joined up with the crew in order to rebuild her business, post-Nasrad, she had seemed to enjoy the ride for the most part, helping the ship to build a solid financial base and happening to make a very tidy sum for herself in the process. Like many other things, she reminded Aika and Fina of all the progress they'd made since their first meeting. Not that Aika would be likely to forget it, anyway.

The embargo on business talk went out the window. "Domingo has some experience with Discoveries, it's great to have him on our side rather than one-upping our efforts. He should be able to sell our logs and charts to the Guild for quite a lot. After we have that gold in our hands, we can plow it right back into the ship, with some temporary repairs and upgrades. Some of the dealers here might surprise you with their stock. Of course, I would be happy to handle all of this business on behalf of the crew, with a modest fee for my services."

"Oh, and one other thing, Captain; according to a contact on the island, the Valuans aren't having much luck recently in their wars. The Empire still has no plans to return to Ixa'taka, especially with DeLoco gone for good. Yafutoma is within their reach, but our efforts have left them strong and united. They have even slowed their offensive against Nasr; the Protector and his fleets are pushing back against them. I know that Galcian and his lot are planning something but from the way things are going, we certainly have some cause to be optimistic."

Vyse was glad for the good news, at least. "It probably just means they're winding up to unleash something else, but that's fine. We've been through it all before. Now that they can't get any of the Moon Crystals, the rest is up to their Admirals, and we've already beaten every one they have… except Ramirez." They didn't linger long on the other Silvite; any mention of him often depressed Fina.

After the hearty breakfast, Vyse, Fina, and Aika decided to go out on Sailors' Island and relax until lunch. Many of the crew had gone ashore and taken out rooms in a few inns, although others had elected to stay aboard the _Delphinus_; for one, Aika was happy to get out and do a bit of shopping. They talked with travelers from every part of Arcadia, and shopped for goods, local and exotic, including even some clothing. While Osman handled replenishing the ship's supplies until they were full to capacity, they procured a lot of personal items with their finances.

They found Enrique and Moegi and had lunch with them at Polly's tavern, a final hurrah for their friends. Everyone insisted that they would see each other again, but an undercurrent of tension ran throughout the meal and the light conversation. Enrique's plan to return home… well, Vyse couldn't really talk about foolhardy plans when it came to Valua, but he had a bad feeling about it. If the prince really could convince his mother that Galcian was the true threat, though, they could certainly benefit from Valua fighting itself.

"Moegi was able to secure our passage aboard a ship with legitimate business in the capital," Enrique said. "I thought it best not to mention my identity until we are past the security cordons and into the city; there is still a very, very high reward available for the 'Mad Prince'." Getting onto one of the few craft allowed through the choking Armada security, since the Grand Fortress' multiple breakouts, was by itself quite a feat.

"Well, at least you know that your mom cares about you," Aika said and he smiled sadly.

"I wish I could make her care about other people, though. When you get to such a high place, with authority over an entire empire… 'the people' get so abstract that they might as well not exist. It is very hard to get the message that a royal decision affects the entire population, and even other nations. It took me far too long, even." He frowned. "That is why I am determined to do this, before Valua cuts off all of its ties with the outside and Galcian carries out his plan to seize power."

"Without you, we wouldn't have gotten out of the Grand Fortress at all," Vyse said after the meal was done, as Anna went around to collect their dishes and cups. "We wouldn't have the _Delphinus_. Moegi, we would have gotten ourselves killed if you weren't there to help. We're going to miss both of you."

"If all goes well, we will return," Moegi replied, face and attitude stoic. She had resigned herself to follow Enrique, wherever he went, and to whatever end. "I am glad to have met you three, though. Our travels together have changed my life in profound ways." She was no longer a shrinking violet. Vyse looked into her eyes and saw only a familiar determination.

"I wish Fina had grown up so well," Aika said, putting an arm around her girlfriend and watching the Silvite shrink away and blush "I mean, compared with when we rescued her from Alfonso, she's a mad pirate, but she still has a long way to go."

"Thanks," Fina murmured, and escaped her grasp, turning to Enrique as they thanked Polly for the food and went outside into the cool afternoon air. "I have learned to trust my instincts, Enrique… is there no way we can persuade you from this course?"

The prince shook his head. "Gregorio was a servant of an evil Empire, but in the end he proved himself a true patriot. He followed the dictates of his conscience, even though it cost him his life. I'm not as strong of a man, but I can aspire to show that kind of fortitude and moral clarity. This is something I must do, Fina. I'm just glad I won't be doing it alone."

The group reached the gates of the island, leading towards the huge docks where the _Delphinus_ was occupying, and paying for, four regular landing spaces. "Guess this is it, for now," Aika said, looking over the royal couple again. They seemed to match so well. "We've glued her together good enough to make the journey back to Crescent Isle, our supplies and gold are both high, and everybody's had a chance to do their business and get back aboard. We'll probably be setting sail soon."

"Good luck, to both of you," Vyse said, stepping forward and shaking Enrique's hand, followed by Moegi's. "Bring him back safe," He said to her, and she nodded silently.

"Oh." Fina gasped. "I believe I forgot to pick up something from the general store, they had it waiting at the counter. Go on ahead, I'll be back soon." She took off towards the store, and after a round of not-really-final goodbyes, Vyse and Aika went through the gates and down the steps to the underground hangar area, passing several teamsters and mechanics.

The _Delphinus_ was there alright, still with a few scaffolding around her, but mostly ready to fly. Sitting on the ground like it was really helped Vyse put it into perspective compared with other ships and skiffs sitting around to either side. "She'll fly, no doubt," Aika said, crossing her arms. "I just… when we get back, Fina's going to be leaving too, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Vyse replied, pensive. "I get what you're thinking, Aika. Her mission's important, too. Probably way more important than anything down here. It's what we've been fighting for all this time…"

"But now that we're at the end of it, it'll be hard to see her go," Aika finished his sentence.

"Yeah. Things are a lot different than when we started out, and… I'm glad for the time we've all had together." He looked out upon his ship, and he could even spot some crew members boarding up the ramp or milling about. "Have to admit, though, this is probably the first time I can remember not being too excited about the sailing."

Soon enough, everybody had gathered aboard, the lines and scaffold were cast off, all the cargo was loaded, and the pirate ship set off into the sky, bound for home.


End file.
